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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845534">Runaways</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarose/pseuds/stellarose'>stellarose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Post-War, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ava Sharpe Needs a Hug, Awkward Ava Sharpe, Comfort/Angst, Endgame Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Gideon (DC's Legends of Tomorrow) Ships It, Human Gideon (DC's Legends of Tomorrow), Sara Lance Needs a Hug, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe-centric, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:28:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarose/pseuds/stellarose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the war, Ava Sharpe jumped at the opportunity to swap one governmental job for another, especially as it meant the chance to cross the ocean. After everything she'd been a part of, Ava needed a change. </p>
<p>Sara Lance left America for an adventure almost a decade ago, and never went home. With everything that happened in the intervening years, she's not sure if she wants to, or if she could.</p>
<p>When their paths cross, Sara and Ava discover they might just be what the other one needs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>186</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Though I try to be as historically accurate as possible, some liberties must be taken for the story to work.</p>
<p>Please note that these are not the same versions of any characters from any of my other AUs from this period, including Homelands. </p>
<p>Kudos and comments are much appreciated :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>May, 1946.</p>
<p>For a very short period of time, Ava tried convincing herself that she wasn’t running away. She had been offered a fantastic opportunity, and she had taken it. The fact that it was across the Atlantic was irrelevant. Besides, a change would be good, she told herself. She’d spend seven years in Washington DC, and though on the whole she’d enjoyed her time, she was happy to be moving on. The city had changed during that time. The whole world had changed, few places more than the one she was moving to. But she wasn’t running away, she was just… moving somewhere else.</p>
<p>The Atlantic, when surveyed from the deck of the ocean liner when miles from land was impossibly vast. The cliental on the ship were predominately businessmen, so Ava stayed in her cabin as much as feasible, though she did enjoy her early morning walks up on the deck, watching the sun rise over the ocean. She spent a lot of timing lying on her bed reading, as the journey was the closest thing she’d had to a vacation since 1940. Thankfully, May was one of the more pleasant times of year to make the crossing, so Ava wasn’t troubled by seasickness. Some days and times it was easy to lose herself in her books, other times her mind kept drifting to imagined scenes of great battleships, mines floating just under the waves, and enemy aircraft overhead. She had never seen any of those things in action from the safety of DC, but her imagination could be annoyingly vivid when it wanted to be.</p>
<p>The five days of the crossing passed quicker than Ava had expected, and before she knew it she was disembarking on a foreign shore. Her first steps on solid ground felt a little strange, and as she glanced back at the ocean liner sitting in the port while the crew ushered the passengers towards the train station for their onward connections, Ava couldn’t help but feel grateful. The ship was an elegant thing, and it looked larger and stronger now that she had spent some time on board.</p>
<p>“See you in a couple of years,” Ava whispered to the ship, wondering if she really meant it.</p>
<p>By time she reached London, Ava was exhausted. It was already dark as the cab trundled through the city to the hotel she’d be staying in until the Embassy sorted out more permanent accommodation for her. The concierge at the hotel chattered politely about how they’d been expecting her and handed her a gin and tonic, while the porter took her things up to her room. Ava just wanted to go to bed, but accepted the drink all the same. The porter returned and escorted Ava to her room through a labyrinth of corridors. Ava smiled politely, not sure if she was supposed to tip or not, and not knowing which of the unfamiliar British coins were which and what would be appropriate. The porter smiled politely once they arrived at Ava’s room, nodded and left without seeming offended by the lack of tip.</p>
<p>Ava closed the door, and promised herself that she’d make it up to the porter next time she saw him. She looked at her trunk and cases on the floor which needed unpacking. That job could wait. The curtains were drawn and the bed looked unbelievably inviting. Ava kicked off her shoes, found her toiletry bag so she could freshen up before changing into a nightgown, and collapsing into bed.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>In the morning, Ava took a long, hot bath, before dressing, taking time to do her hair just right, and heading down for breakfast. She knew that breakfast was included, but still had no idea if she was supposed to tip the waiter or not. After breakfast, she went to find the concierge, but when she saw it was someone different from the night before, she felt shy, and decided to go back to her room instead. It occurred to Ava that she hadn’t paid for the arrival drink either, and was beginning to worry that all this would be taken out of her pay. Seeing the hotel with fresh eyes, she realised that it was very nice and must be quite expensive. Surely the Embassy only meant for her to stay here for a few days? That must be it. Just enough to get her bearings and get started. Ava did a little unpacking, but she was feeling restless and in need of fresh air, so she found a hat and coat and headed out.</p>
<p>Ava wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but somehow the London she found herself wandering through wasn’t it. From what she understood, this was supposed to be the nice, expensive area too; instead it looked like a war zone. The war in Europe had ended a year ago, but walking around the streets, it could have ended yesterday. Buildings were still boarded up, windows were missing, and there seemed to be craters on every street. Of some buildings only the front remained, with the rest having been guttered by fire. In other places were the skeletons of what had been, piles of rubble, and occasionally completely empty, cleared sites, ready for reconstruction. Some buildings had scaffolding around them, while traffic and pedestrians had to keep their wits about them to avoid holes in the roads and footpaths. The sight made Ava want to cry.</p>
<p>Ava wandered for a little while until she wasn’t entirely sure where she was, but was feeling increasingly hungry and overwhelmed. She sought sanctuary in a bookshop, and mentally kicked herself for being so under-prepared for this trip across the ocean. Before moving from her home state of California to Washington DC, she had done all manner of research on the city including studying maps, finding out the best places to eat and visit, how the public transport system worked, which were the best neighbourhoods, the local weather, and what customs may differ from those in California. This time, she’d done none of that, having just packed her bags and left. Just like a runaway would.</p>
<p>In the bookshop, Ava enjoyed browsing the range on shelves, before selecting a guide book and city map. The woman behind the counter smiled as Ava placed the items down.</p>
<p>“We’re always happy to see visitors,” the woman said.</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m not a visitor,” Ava said.</p>
<p>The woman raised her eyebrows ever so slightly.</p>
<p>“I work here. I - I will be working here. Fresh off the boat yesterday,” Ava tried to explain, but her voice felt strange and she was extremely conscious of her accent.</p>
<p>The woman nodded. “Well, welcome to London anyway, love. That’ll be 10-and-6.”</p>
<p>Ava opened her purse and looked inside, having no idea what the woman meant, or which coins she was supposed to give her, again wishing she’d done more research.</p>
<p>“Ten shillings and six pence, love. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it,” she said, waiting while Ava struggled with the bizarre new coins.</p>
<p>Ava then made her way back to the hotel as directly as she could and ate a late lunch in the hotel restaurant while feeling woefully underdressed, before spending the afternoon curled up with her guidebook, the map and her notebook, making a list of all the places she most wanted to see. On the map she worked out the quickest way from the hotel to the Embassy, and realised it was only a couple of blocks away. It was merely by chance that she hadn’t passed through Grosvenor Square in her wanderings today.</p>
<p>Ava unpacked more of her things, making herself at home. Having settled into the hotel, where everything was neat and clean and tidy, with a full stomach, and a bit of a plan for the future sorted out, Ava began to feel that the situation was not so bad after all.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The following day, Ava’s induction at the Embassy of the United States was brief. She was shown by a secretary the whereabouts of the ladies washroom, the tea-room and given a rough guide as to which department was where.</p>
<p>“Not that it matters much,” the secretary said. “You’ll just be downstairs in archives.”</p>
<p>Ava tried very hard not to roll her eyes at the comment.</p>
<p>“Anyway, this is it,” the secretary said, opening a door down a flight of stairs and flicking on the light. “I suppose someone will be along. I don’t know. Bye.”</p>
<p>“Bye,” Ava muttered, but the woman had already gone. Ava stepped into the large room and took in her surroundings. The room was filled with filing cabinets, and in every spare space there were archive boxes stacked dangerously high, all filled with papers. Ava noticed a door at the far end of the room. She opened it to find a second room of similar size and in a similar state.</p>
<p>“And this isn’t even everything!” a chirpy voice said.</p>
<p>Ava jumped.</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” said a man with a broad smile, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Hullo. I’m Gary Green. I’m your assistant.”</p>
<p>“There’s more?” Ava asked, not sure if she felt more awed or overwhelmed.</p>
<p>“Most of the papers from the Navy are still in their building across the square,” Gary said apologetically. “They want to send them over as soon as possible, so they can pack up and go home, but as you can see… well, the previous archivist and I didn’t get very far, and…”</p>
<p>“You mean you’ve started?” Ava asked, taking in the state of the rooms.</p>
<p>“Well, in the end Mr Bennett decided he’d rather retire to Florida than deal with, well, this,” Gary said, gesturing to the room.</p>
<p>“Right,” said Ava. “I didn’t know I was getting an assistant. I’m Miss Sharpe.”</p>
<p>“Hullo, nice to meet you,” Gary said, enthusiastically shaking Ava’s hand. “I was quite surprised when I found out you were a Miss Sharpe, not a Mr Sharpe.”</p>
<p>“You thought I was a man?”</p>
<p>“No, I don’t mean that,” Gary said. “Just that most people are men.”</p>
<p>“I think you’ll find it’s actually close to half-and-half, Mr Green,” Ava said, placing her handbag on top of an archive box and beginning to unbutton her coat.</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, of course. What I meant is working people. In jobs like this.”</p>
<p>“Right,” said Ava, sure that Mr Green didn’t mean any harm, but he was hardly ingratiating himself. “Well, Mr Green. What’s the situation here? Didn’t anyone bother to archive anything for six years?”</p>
<p>“Well, no, not really,” Mr Green said, looking sheepish. “It was more of a shove-and-go system of filing.”</p>
<p>Ava draped her coat over the box her bag was on, and opened another box nearby. It was filled with papers, and not one of them was in a file. She opened another box, which at least had files in it, but they were all marked “COPY”, which meant that Ava would have to figure out if the originals were here somewhere, or if these were the only copies at the Embassy. Eventually, every file relating to the US Embassy, Navy, and General Eisenhower’s Army during the war years would be sent back to America, but first someone had to make heads and tails of it all so that all the archivists back in the States had to do was put it all safely away.</p>
<p>Ava opened a third box. She pulled out a file and flicked through the contents, noticing that a lot of it was blacked out. “I’m guessing you have a security clearance, Mr Green?”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, Miss Sharpe. My lips are sealed. Legally.”</p>
<p>“Mmm,” Ava said, pulling out another file, wondering how long Mr Green had been working here, but getting the feeling she’d be in for his whole life-story if she asked. “Is it just me, or did someone make amendments to alphabetical order during the war? I know a lot of things have changed, but my understanding is that was thing which stayed the same.”</p>
<p>“Pardon?”</p>
<p>“Q comes before R and S, T can only be in one position, not two, and W belongs back here,” Ava said, flicking through more folders which had been arranged in a very ad-hoc way to say the least. She took a deep breath and looked around. The challenges facing London may seem insurmountable to her, but six years worth of bad paperwork she could deal with, even if it took two or three years to sort it out. “It’s not government work until its been done twice,” Ava said, as much to herself as to Mr Green.</p>
<p>“What was that?”</p>
<p>“I need supplies,” Ava said. “Are there stationary supplies for us?”</p>
<p>“No?” Gary asked, though he wasn’t really sure.</p>
<p>“When did Mr Bennett retire?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Mr Green shrugged and looked sheepish. “July last year?”</p>
<p>Ava sighed. “And since then…?”</p>
<p>“I’ve been trying to ask for a replacement? I guess they wanted to cut costs by sending a woman. No offence.”</p>
<p>“None taken,” Ava said, wondering just what wage Mr Bennett had been on, but she no longer felt guilty about the fancy hotel room. She hadn’t been recruited for the position until the end of March, so the Embassy had certainly been dragging it’s feet. And as for Mr Green, Ava assumed she was stuck with him. “Mr Green, no time like the present to make yourself useful. We need notepads, pens, pencils. A large table. A chair for each of us. Tape. As many files as can acquire. More archive boxes, paper clips, a stapler and staples. Is there a window in here?”</p>
<p>“There’s one behind those boxes.”</p>
<p>“Then we start with those,” Ava said, as the room was already feeling stuffy. “Well Mr Green? Those supplies aren’t going to acquire themselves.”</p>
<p>“I’m on my way!” Mr Green grinned, grateful to finally have someone taking charge. When he got to the door, he turned back. “And Miss Sharpe?”</p>
<p>“Mmm?” Ava said, looking up from another file which didn’t seem to remotely related to anything else in the box where she’d found it.</p>
<p>“I’m very glad you’re here.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“I’m sure my news is more interesting than that, Captain,” Gideon said, pouring more tea and lamenting Sara’s habit of reading the evening newspaper at the dinner table. Sara claimed she’d rather read the news than listen to it on the wireless, which Gideon understood, but it was the timing that she took issue with. However, engaging conversation was one way to encourage Sara to stop.</p>
<p>“And what would that be?” Sara mumbled, her mouth half-full with food. “Do we have any mustard?”</p>
<p>“There is a little remaining and more coming in next week’s provisions order.”</p>
<p>“Uh huh,” Sara said. As much as Gideon tried her best with the rations, and the food she prepared was a lot better than a lot of other people managed, Sara had long since leant that distracting herself while eating made the fairly bland, repetitive meals easier to stomach.</p>
<p>“I shall get the mustard.”</p>
<p>“Thank-you, Gideon.”</p>
<p>Gideon returned a moment later with the mustard, and spooned a small portion on Sara’s plate.</p>
<p>“Is that it?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“If you want it to last until next week, I’m afraid so, Captain,” Gideon said, screwing the lid back onto the mustard and placed it on the sideboard out of reach before sitting down. “There’s a new employee at the US Embassy.”</p>
<p>“So?”</p>
<p>“I thought you’d be interested.”</p>
<p>“Who is he?” Sara asked, humouring Gideon more than actually caring.</p>
<p>“<em>She</em> is the new archivist. A Miss Ava Sharpe,” Gideon said, replacing her napkin across her lap. Though it wasn’t often done that staff dined with their employees, Sara preferred not to dine alone, and since Charlie worked evenings and they’d all worked odd hours during the war, it had become habit that Gideon dined with the household.</p>
<p>“Huh,” Sara said, still not very interested.</p>
<p>“I am lead to believe she is very pretty.”</p>
<p>Sara looked up. “So?”</p>
<p>“I’m just making conversation, Captain,” Gideon said with her best poker-face, but having known that would get a reaction.</p>
<p>Sara sighed. “Did you have an afternoon-tea gossip with your fellow lady-butler sources?”</p>
<p>“I never divulge my sources, Captain, as you are well aware.”</p>
<p>“Very well aware, Gideon,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“And I am perfectly happy with the title of house-keeper.”</p>
<p>“And I’d be perfectly happy calling you my batwoman, but since you won’t let me, lady-butler it is.”</p>
<p>Gideon dabbed at her mouth with her napkin to hide a smile. “I am honoured that you think of me in such a capacity, Captain.”</p>
<p>“Why do you think I need to know about this Miss Sharpe?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“It’s interesting to know when there is a new American woman about town, don’t you agree?”</p>
<p>“No,” Sara said. “And some of the things I’ve heard you say about Americans during the war would make me think you don’t really either. Who does she work for, really?”</p>
<p>“The US Embassy. No other current connections. Though to be in archives, her security clearance must be quite something.”</p>
<p>“Who <em>did</em> she work for?” Sara asked, knowing Gideon wouldn’t bring this up unless there was more to this Miss Sharpe than met the eye.</p>
<p>“What was her work connected to, Captain, is the question,” Gideon said. “Regardless of that, my understanding is that she could use a friend.”</p>
<p>“I have a history of getting my friends killed,” Sara mumbled into her drink.</p>
<p>“The war is over, Captain,” Gideon said. “A new friend might be just what you need.”</p>
<p>Sara poked her dinner around her plate. “Mind your own business, Gideon.”</p>
<p>“Forgive me, but you are my business, Captain.”</p>
<p>Sara didn’t have a response for that, and returned her attention to the newspaper.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took Ava a couple of days to finalise her plan for just how she and Mr Green, who seemed to be a permanent fixture despite his general incompetence and inability to complete any task in a timely manner, were going to tackle the archiving project. Ava half-made a couple of plans before scrapping them as she gained a better understanding of what it was that needed to be done. With a plan in place, Ava felt calmer. All these documents were historical, everything here had already happened, and nothing Ava did could cause anyone any harm.</p>
<p>“All right, Mr Green,” Ava said on Thursday morning as she and Gary hung their coats and hats on the rickety coat-rack Gary had found in a supply cupboard somewhere upstairs. “Time to start making heads and tails of all this.” She’d taped out lines on the floor, marking sections for the six years of the war. Their first job was to roughly sort the boxes and files by date, then go from there. From what they’d seen so far, they knew there wouldn’t be much dating from 1939, so Ava wanted to start there to get it out of the way, then work her way forwards. The issue was finding just which documents those were, and being the oldest, they were most likely at the back.</p>
<p>“What if there’s spiders?” Mr Green asked trying not to sound too afraid as he rolled up his shirt-sleeves.</p>
<p>“Then you’ll have to go upstairs and get a swatter,” Ava said, matter-of-fact. “Or a jar and a piece of cardboard if you wish to take the spider outside.”</p>
<p>“Or mice?” Gary asked tentatively, his voice higher than usual.</p>
<p>“If there are mice in the archives, then we have a whole set of other problems, Mr Green,” Ava said, looking around and praying there wasn’t any vermin eating the paperwork. “Same goes for damp, though these rooms look to be free enough from those.”</p>
<p>By mid-morning, Ava and Mr Green were sweaty and hot from a morning spent moving boxes in the stuffy rooms. It looked and felt as though they’d hardly made a difference at all, and although they were getting closer to the small window, Ava was now wondering if it even could be opened. Ava put her hands on her hips and surveyed the space, hoping that progress would prove to be exponential.</p>
<p>“Knock-knock. Hi.”</p>
<p>Ava turned around. “Good morning,” she said to the stranger standing in the door, wondering who this woman was and why she was here.</p>
<p>“Miss Lance!” Mr Green grinned.</p>
<p>“That’s Captain Lance to you, Mr Green,” the woman said.</p>
<p>“Yes, Captain, ma’am,” said Gary.</p>
<p>“Sara Lance,” she said, holding her hand out to Ava.</p>
<p>“Ava Sharpe,” Ava said, shaking Sara’s hand and taking in her well-cut grey coat, smart maroon hat, and sparkling blue eyes.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you,” Sara said with a smile. “Mr Green here isn’t giving too much trouble?”</p>
<p>“Umm, no - he…” Ava caught Sara’s eye, and noticed her slight smirk which Ava took to mean that she knew exactly how helpful and productive Mr Green was. “Are you one of the secretaries?” she asked, wondering how a woman ended up with a military commission.</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “After a fashion, I suppose.”</p>
<p>“Are you supposed to be down here?” Ava asked in hushed tones. No one had come to visit down in the archives; the few people Ava had met so far had been in the tearoom and few had bothered to hide their surprise when learning that the new archivist was a woman.</p>
<p>Again, Sara shrugged, but there was something about the way she stood and the confident air about her that made Ava think she could probably waltz into Buckingham Palace and no one would blink an eye.</p>
<p>“Let me know if you find anything with my name on it,” Sara said a little conspiratorially. “I want to know what they’ve said about me. Anything before mid ’43 will be Agent Lance, rather than Captain.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” said Ava. “Well, I - we’re just getting started.”</p>
<p>“Well you’re looking fairly organised,” Sara said, looking at the tape on the floor, and the table full of stationary with unfolded archive boxes stacked beneath it. “I guess I’ll leave you too it. Nice to meet you, Miss Sharpe. Gideon sends her regards, Mr Green.”</p>
<p>“Wh - I - yes,” Mr Green stumbled over his words, looking embarrassed. “I - tell her I send my regards too.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure you’ll be sending more than that,” Sara winked. “Good day, Miss Sharpe,” she said, giving Ava a nod before departing.</p>
<p>Ava couldn’t help but stare as Sara left, and a strange feeling came over her. “Do they make half-decent coffee anywhere in this city, Mr Green?” she asked, trying to take her mind off the fact that Miss Lance had most definitely looked her up and down before leaving. Whenever a man did that to her, Ava felt a little bit ill. Now, she felt exhilarated.</p>
<p>“Well, that depends on your definition of ‘decent’, Miss Sharpe,” Gary replied. “Because of rationing it’s even harder than it was before the war.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Ava said, turning back to the box she had been checking, but her mind was no longer in the job, having floated away up the stairs, just like Miss Lance’s pretty golden hair and knowing smile. “I think it’s time for morning tea, Mr Green,” she said, feeling a little hot. She took a deep breath. “And who is Miss Lance, by the way? Or Captain Lance or Agent or however she’s supposed to be addressed.”</p>
<p>“Well, I don’t know much,” Mr Green said. “But my understanding is that she’s on the payroll here as a secretary, because no one quite knows what to do with her. She was umm… special forces? But once they disbanded… well, she refuses to go back to the States, and given her service record she’s sort of owed a pension of sorts, so…?”</p>
<p>“Special forces?”</p>
<p>“I think I know which branch but I can’t really say? They were the - ”</p>
<p>“Yes, Mr Green, I understand,” Ava said. “Was she British special forces? She’s American.”</p>
<p>“She’s been living over here for a while, and got recruited by the locals, I guess,” Gary said, knowing more than he was allowed to let on, and feeling intimated by his stunning new boss. “There’s bound to be more information around here if we can ever find it.”</p>
<p>Ava looked at the boxes. “I’m sure Miss Lance’s business is her own,” she said. “It was kind of her to come and introduce herself. Who is Gideon?”</p>
<p>Mr Green blushed. “Ah, she - she’s… I’ll go find us some coffee? Or very strong tea?”</p>
<p>“And give yourself time to fabricate a story?” Ava asked, raising her eyebrows, having already learnt that this would make Gary panic, even though she didn’t mean any harm. “It better be good, Mr Green.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Sara returned home for lunch, deciding that half a day lurking in the Embassy was more than enough. Besides, if she stayed out all day, she’d never see Charlie, and Gideon would complain about getting everything set for lunch, packing it all up, then having to set up again when Sara did get home.</p>
<p>“I met your Miss Sharpe this morning,” Sara said between mouthfuls of food, catching Gideon’s eye.</p>
<p>“Who?” Charlie asked without looking up from her plate.</p>
<p>“Miss Sharpe has nothing to do with me,” Gideon replied airily.</p>
<p>“She’s the new archivist at the Embassy,” Sara explained. “She’s cleaning up the excuse for administration that passed during the war. She’s got her work cut out for her, that’s for sure. Gideon knew about her.”</p>
<p>“Well, can’t say I’m that surprised. How’d you know, Gideon?” Charlie asked.</p>
<p>“I will not diverge my sources,” Gideon said.</p>
<p>Sara smirked. “There’s a verdant little birdie in the Embassy who sings for Gideon, and I’m sure that be-speckled birdie let her know about Miss Sharpe’s arrival earlier this week.”</p>
<p>Gideon pulled a face. “I suppose, Captain, you’re wanting me to ask what you made of her?”</p>
<p>“Well, I saw her for a whole two minutes,” Sara said, thinking about the tall, attractive, stressed-looking woman, with a couple of strands of hair beginning to fall out of her bun. “She looked - busy. I don’t know. She was polite, has already worked out that Mr Green’s efficiency is close to zero, and… well, she’s fairly pretty, I guess.”</p>
<p>Charlie looked up from her lunch. “Sara Lance, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”</p>
<p>“No,” Sara said. “I’m just stating facts.”</p>
<p>“Next Friday, invite her to drinks. I’ve got next Friday off. I’m working tomorrow, and now I want to meet her,” Charlie said with a smirk.</p>
<p>“You invite her,” Sara said, suddenly feeling self-conscious and looking back at her plate.</p>
<p>“Being new to the city, she might enjoy meeting some people and taking part in the common cultural activity of Friday night drinks,” Gideon said.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m not doing it today,” Sara said before filling her mouth with food to avoid further conversation.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, every time Ava heard someone walking down the stairs towards the archive rooms, she found herself hoping it was Sara Lance. Disappointingly, it was only ever Gary. Ava guessed it would take another week to move all of the boxes into the area she had designated for each year. Mr Green chattered away as he and Ava went about checking what was in each box, and marking which year/s and department/s it belonged to.</p>
<p>Mr Green filled the time by talking, and needed little prompting or encouragement from Ava. Ava could tell he was censoring parts of his story, but he still told her more than she had ever known about any of her previous colleagues. She learnt about his attempts to join the armed forces, only to be declined due to asthma, poor eyesight, and flat feet, and his recruitment into the civil service instead. Mr Green shared in great detail information about his early years and schooling, summers spent with his cousins, holidays with his grandparents, and an assortment of other tales. Every time Ava thought he had exhausted his autobiography, Mr Green would surprise her with another story, and Ava began to suspect that he was going to talk for the entirety of the time they were working together. She wondered if it was possible to get a wireless set up in the archives, so they could listen to that on occasion, rather than Mr Green’s stream of consciousness.</p>
<p>Ava considered asking Mr Green more about Miss Lance or Gideon, however she didn’t want to seem overly interested. The only reason she was interested, Ava told herself, was because Miss Lance had been the only person to stop by the archives to introduce herself. Miss Lance had just been being kind, Ava told herself, though in truth that thought felt as honest as the idea that she wasn’t running away. Ava sighed and looked around the archives room.</p>
<p>“I’m going to get some lunch, Mr Green,” Ava said. “I’ll be back in half an hour. You can go when I get back.”</p>
<p>“You know we can take an hour for lunch?” Gary said.</p>
<p>“I know,” Ava said, but since she didn’t have anything to do but eat and return, she knew she didn’t need that long. A lot of staff went for a walk, but walking through the semi-destroyed streets only made Ava feel miserable. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“I’m heading off now, boss. Catch ya in the morning,” Charlie said, poking her head into Sara’s room, and saw Sara looking out the window.</p>
<p>“All right, see you in the morning,” Sara said, turning to look at Charlie.</p>
<p>“You all right? You’re sounding a bit flat.”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “I’m fine.”</p>
<p>Charlie looked at her. “If it’s about me and Gideon giving you a bit of a ribbing about this Miss Sharpe, we can drop it. But you are allowed to want things, Sara.”</p>
<p>“It’s not that,” Sara said, not about to confess that Miss Sharpe had popped up in her dreams las tnight. “I need to stop reading about the Nuremberg Trials but I can’t. It’s so… it’s just so…”</p>
<p>“What do you - oh. Oh, no, Sara you - ”</p>
<p>Sara sighed and sat down on heavily her bed. Charlie leant against the door, not quite knowing what to do.</p>
<p>“You are nothing like them,” Charlie said. “For a start, you’re not ranked nearly highly enough,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.</p>
<p>“I’m still an officer.”</p>
<p>“Please don’t do this to yourself,” Charlie said. “And the things they’re trying those blokes for… that’s nothing like what you were involved with. If someone joins the military, and someone from the opposing military offs them, then that’s bad bloody lucky for them, and part of the job for the other. But if someone joins the military and systematically murders a whole lot of civilians, then that’s a war crime and a completely different can of worms, yeah?”</p>
<p>Sara stared at the carpet, forcing back tears.</p>
<p>“And if you want to beat yourself up about it,” Charlie continued, “Remember that you’ve already paid. You owe them nothing, Sara, least of all any guilty feelings, because if the situation had been reversed, I am quite certain there’s no way they’d be feeling like that about you.”</p>
<p>“Some of my methods weren’t exactly… clean and quick,” Sara mumbled.</p>
<p>Charlie pursed her lips and took a deep breath to stop herself from saying anything that might make the situation worse. If Sara was going around feeling bad and sorry for herself, then Charlie knew there wasn’t much she could say or do to help. “But it’s over now,” she mumbled. “You know what? Invite Miss Sharpe. Don’t invite her. It doesn’t matter. Me and Gideon will let it go. But you are allowed friends, Sara. New friends, who don’t have to know every last detail of every bit of shit that happened during the war. Just - I dunno. I gotta go. See ya in the morning, boss.”</p>
<p>“See you, Charlie,” Sara said, unable to meet Charlie’s eyes. </p>
<p>A few minutes later, Gideon arrived with the tea-tray. She placed it on Sara’s dressing table and set about making it.</p>
<p>“Gideon, I - ”</p>
<p>“You’re having this, and I’m not accepting arguments,” Gideon said, making the tea strong and black with no sugar, and a dash of something special. “Drink up,” she said, handing the cup to Sara.</p>
<p>Sara took a careful sip, and her eyes widened. “Gideon that is certainly a generous splash of - what spirit are you using today?”</p>
<p>“It’s the Bell’s ’28, Captain,” Gideon said proudly.</p>
<p>“It goes well with tea,” Sara said, taking another sip an feeling the warm liquid surging through her, melting away her dark train of thought.</p>
<p>“Where is it hurting?” Gideon asked, looking at Sara.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“You’re all out of sorts, and that usually means you’re in pain. So, where does it hurt in particular?”</p>
<p>Sara sighed, knowing better than to argue. Gideon was always here, looking after her, and she guessed that Charlie had briefly recounted their conversation on her way out. Sara knew she should be grateful, but she just felt tired. “I don’t know. Everywhere? I’m fine, Gideon. It’s fine.”</p>
<p>Gideon pulled the bottle of liniment oil out of her apron pocket and placed it on the tea tray. “Finish that, then blouse off. I’m going to get a towel.”</p>
<p>“Why Gideon, I thought you’d never ask,” Sara smirked despite herself, sipping her tea.</p>
<p>Gideon shook her head as she went in search of the towels.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Ava woke up on Saturday morning, she knew she had to go out and do something. Without the somewhat ordered chaos which she had control over in the Embassy archives, she could easily see herself becoming overwhelmed at the seemingly insurmountable task of rebuilding the city if she just sat around in the hotel or aimlessly wandered the streets nearby. Ava flicked through the newspaper at breakfast, but her biggest take away was that the weather should be mostly fine, if a little cool. Back in her hotel room, Ava looked at the list of places she most wanted to visit, and decided that Kew Garden must be lovely in May. She dressed, figured out how to get on a District Line Service train, and headed out.</p>
<p>Ava fell in love with the gardens the moment she walked through the gate. Even though parts of them had been damaged, and large portions of the lawns had been converted into working-model Dig For Victory gardens, the whole site was a luscious, green, living escape from the city. Ava enjoyed looking at the numerous vegetable plots where all manner of things were growing, before heading over to the rose garden and Palm House. She wandered past Kew Palace, the last of the flowering magnolias, and garden beds filled with tulips and other spring flowers. Though many families, couples and groups were visiting the gardens, Ava still managed to find a secluded spot in the Redwood Grove to eat her sandwiches. As she lay back and looked up at the sky through the branches, she thought she could have been anywhere in the world. More than that, for the first time in longer than she could remember, Ava realised that she genuinely happy.</p>
<p>Ava spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring more of the expansive gardens, including climbing the Great Pagoda, visiting the Temperate House, and enjoying just being outside amongst the plants and trees. Whole sitting on the train back to central London, she looked out the window with renewed interest in the city and life in general. Plants still grew, flowers blossomed, children ran and played and chased pigeons. Though it wasn’t always easy to see, London was recovering, repairing, moving forwards.</p>
<p>As soon as Ava returned to the hotel, she filled out the postcard from the gardens she had bought to send to her parents, and sat the second postcard she had bought for herself as a memento on the writing desk. Ava pulled out her guidebook, inspired to find somewhere different to eat rather than the restaurant downstairs, as nice as it was. She could make something of this, Ava told herself. If the locals could make the best of the situation they were stuck in, then so could she.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>All weekend, Sara tried not to think about the fact that Ava Sharpe looked like the sort school librarian Sara liked to fantasise about, and that she had very nice hands. Sara had only met her once, for goodness sake. On Monday, Sara procrastinated, but on Tuesday she finally pulled herself together, and when she told Gideon she was going to the Embassy, Gideon did a very poor job of hiding a knowing look.</p>
<p>“Will you be home for lunch, Captain?” Gideon asked.</p>
<p>“I won’t be lingering,” Sara replied as she buttoned her coat. “It’s a bit of a shame those concerts aren’t on at the National Gallery anymore,” she said, making it clear to Gideon that she did not wish to discuss Miss Sharpe.</p>
<p>“I shall look into somewhere else that holds regular lunchtime performances, Captain,” Gideon said.</p>
<p>“Than-you, Gideon. See what you can find. Are you going to bridge this afternoon? The usual gossip session with your fellow lady-butlers?”</p>
<p>“I do have bridge this afternoon, Captain, yes,” Gideon said, ignoring the comment about the gossip. “Though I shan’t be leaving until after lunch, and Charlie will surely be out of bed by then.”</p>
<p>“One can only hope so, Gideon,” Sara said, knowing that Charlie was quite a fan of sleeping in, though Sara could hardly blame her as she was often out until the small hours. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”</p>
<p>Sara caught the bus through South Kensington and Knightsbridge, alighting at Hyde Park Corner to walk to the Embassy. She wasn’t sure if she had allowed herself to be talked into this or if she actually wanted it. It had been so long since Sara had done something for purely selfish reasons that she wasn’t sure what it felt like anymore. Not that it mattered much. Miss Sharpe would probably be busy, both now and on Friday. Despite expecting rejection, Sara couldn’t help but notice butterflies in her stomach at the idea of speaking to Miss Sharpe again, if only for a minute or two.</p>
<p>Sara stood a little taller as she wound her way to Grosvenor Square, putting on the face and demeanour that she allowed the world to see. She strode into the Embassy as though she owned the place, and a couple of people greeted her with a “good morning, Captain Lance”. Sara made her way down the stairs to the archives as quickly as she could without causing suspicion.</p>
<p>“Mr Green, did you find the - oh. You’re not Mr Green,” Ava said, turning to the door when she heard footsteps and smiling when she saw who it was.</p>
<p>“Perceptive,” Sara smiled. She looked around the archive room, which looked much the same as it had on her pervious visit, though perhaps marginally more organised.</p>
<p>“Come to check on us, have you, Miss Lance?” Ava asked, feeling very hot all of a sudden.</p>
<p>“Just coming to say hello,” Sara said, forcing herself not to stare at Ava. “Had you noticed that the ceiling is reinforced? If the building received a direct hit, it should have been safe down here. Well, in theory, anyway. It may have helped if the Embassy had caught fire, but not much stopped a 110-pound bomb, and those were the small ones.”</p>
<p>“I hadn’t noticed the ceiling,” Ava said as she put down the file she was holding.</p>
<p>“Like most places, they probably didn’t install it until after ’43 anyway,” Sara said, briefly taking in Ava’s simple blouse and skirt paired with sensible shoes and a leather-banded watch, before looking back at the ceiling. “They didn’t in Whitehall until ’44, but the Nazi’s never would have guessed that Churchill was running the war and the country in the middle of the Blitz from under the Treasury building. Actually, I don’t think that is common knowledge. Reinforced-ceiling of silence?”</p>
<p>“Reinforced-ceiling of silence,” Ava agreed, wondering if Miss Lance’s arrival while Mr Green had popped up for a cup of tea was coincidental or just good luck. “What brings you here?”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged nonchalantly, and leant against the doorframe. “Not sure if you know many people around here,” she said. “If you’d like, you’re welcome to join a few friends and I on Friday night for a couple of drinks.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Ava asked, her stomach fluttering.</p>
<p>“Sure,” said Sara. “I can meet you outside the Embassy at 5. The pub is only a few blocks away. We just have a few beers and a bit of a catch-up. There’s a couple of other Americans, and a few of locals too. It’s a bit of a revolving door of people from week-to-week, depending on who’s available.”</p>
<p>“Umm, I… I…”</p>
<p>“If you have something else on, that’s fine. It’s an open offer,” Sara said, hoping her disappointment didn’t show.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“All right, well maybe another time, then.”</p>
<p>“No, sorry, I - I meant yes. I’ll come,” Ava said. “I - I went to Kew Gardens on Saturday. It was wonderful, but I - you’re right. I don’t know anyone here. The only other people I do know Mr Green and the concierge at the hotel. But I - your friends won’t think it’s strange?”</p>
<p>“Nah,” Sara said, smiling. “We’ve almost all been newcomers to the city at one point, other than Gideon and Charlie who are born-and-raised Londoners, though from very different corners.”</p>
<p>“Oh, right,” Ava said. “Well, yes, please. I’d like to come.”</p>
<p>“Great,” Sara grinned. “Well, I’ll wait for you out the front of the Embassy on Friday evening.”</p>
<p>“I won’t see you before then?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Sara slightly raised her eyebrows. “No. I won’t be back in the office this week.”</p>
<p>“It’s Tuesday,” Ava said, wondering what Sara could possibly be doing.</p>
<p>“I know. And I will see you on Friday. Ah, Mr Green! I’m sure that shirt could be tucked in and that tie somewhat less askew. Have a good day, Miss Sharpe.”</p>
<p>“You too, Miss Lance,” Ava said.</p>
<p>Sara heard the perpetually flustered Mr Green ask “Why don’t you have to call her Captain?”, but was already out of earshot before Ava responded. Sara didn’t linger at the Embassy, and since the weather was as nice as it had been all week and she had no further plans, she decided to walk the two and a half miles home through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.</p>
<p>Sara would never admit to Gideon that she was right, but she had been right that it felt good to invite Miss Sharpe along on Friday. Sara could tell that there was more to the new archivist than met the eye, but she surprised herself in that she genuinely wanted to get to know Ava casually, as well as whatever she’d been up to during the war. There was no way the Embassy would employ a woman in that position unless whatever she had been doing back in the States had been important and top secret, to say the least.</p>
<p>A squirrel ran across the path in front of Sara before scrambling up a tree. Sara smiled, and tried not to think about those who she used to go walking with and wished they were here now to swap theories on Miss Sharpe, to gossip and laugh with. Friends who would come over for lunch, fellow Baker Street irregulars who she could discuss anything and everything with, because they all had the same security clearance. Those informal debriefing sessions could be more valuable that the real thing with their commanding officers. Sara sighed, and looked around for more squirrels. She wouldn’t trade Gideon or Charlie for anyone, but Sara still wished she hadn’t ended up so alone.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>For the rest of the week, Ava switched between feeling nervous and excited in regards to having drinks with the mysterious Sara Lance and her group of friends. Gary seemed a little jealous that Ava had been invited, but Ava tried to avoid discussing it with him, instead prompting him to tell her more about when and why he had taken to playing cricket. The days passed at a peculiar pace, at times the hours flew by, and other times they seemed to drag, but Friday afternoon rolled around all the same.</p>
<p>“5:01, Miss Sharpe,” Sara said, waiting outside the Embassy and looking at her watch as Ava approached.</p>
<p>“Mr Green was - ” Ava began, before she realised that Sara was teasing.</p>
<p>“Say no more,” Sara smiled. “The pub’s not far, and it’s not raining, so we might as well walk. There’ll be seven of us this evening,” she said as she led the way out of Grosvenor Square, Ava quickly falling into step with her.</p>
<p>“It’s nice to get some air after being in the archives room all week,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“You don’t go out at lunchtime?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“Not really,” Ava replied, not sure how to explain that seeing the half-destroyed city still made her uncomfortable and sad. “So, what do these friends of yours do?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral.</p>
<p>“All sorts of things,” Sara said. “Charlie’s a singer in a club and my housemate. Gideon is our - well, she calls herself a housekeeper, but she’s so much more than that. John’s a teacher, though I’m not sure why, as he generally doesn’t like people at the best of times, let alone children. Ray and Nora are married, and they’re both Americans. Ray’s been over here for ages, he’s an engineer at Rolls-Royce. Nora’s also a teacher, and head of sixth-form at her school.”</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s nice,” Ava said, hoping she remembered everyone’s names. She hardly noticed where Sara was leading them as her mind raced while Sara chattered about the weather and the headlines of the evening papers. Sara seemed to need to fill the silence, and Ava wondered if she was really that chatty, or just nervous as Ava was. Ava was the one going to meet a group of strangers for dinner, after all, so why did Sara seem jittery too? They soon stepped off a busy street and into an equally busy, traditional pub.</p>
<p>“Here they are!” Charlie said, waving Sara and Ava over to the booth she and Gideon had reserved for the group. “Johnno, shove over.”</p>
<p>“Hang on, love, let me move me drink,” John said, shuffling down.</p>
<p>“The Palmers should be here any minute now,” Gideon said, checking her watch. “You must be Miss Sharpe. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”</p>
<p>Before Ava had been introduced to Charlie, Gideon and John, Ray and Nora Palmer arrived, and Charlie ordered everyone a round of drinks. Ava found herself sandwiched between Sara and Nora, but now that Sara was here with her friends and with a beer in hand she was much more relaxed, while Ava got along with Nora from the outset.</p>
<p>Once their first drinks were finished, a second round and meals were ordered. Ava listened a lot more than she talked, hearing about the politics at the nightclub where Charlie sang, Gideon’s various domestic challenges, and the ‘right bloody twats’ John spent his days crowd-controlling and trying to teach a little maths, history or French. Once the meals were cleared, another round of drinks was ordered. Even though they were all sitting tightly squeezed into the booth with their elbows touching while they’d eaten, Ava couldn’t help but feel she was sitting in someone else’s spot. When Nora got up to grab the next round of drinks, Ava joined her.</p>
<p>“This might sound odd,” Ava said nervously as they waited at the bar. “But am I taking someone else’s place?”</p>
<p>Nora looked at her for a moment before answering. “The space has been empty for a little while,” she said with a sad smile. “How much do you know about Sara?”</p>
<p>“Practically nothing,” Ava said. “I know more about Ray’s colleagues, the boys in John’s class and Gideon’s ongoing troubles with the butcher than I do about Miss Lance.”</p>
<p>“Well, she wouldn’t have invited you if she wasn’t ready,” Nora said kindly.</p>
<p>“Ready?”</p>
<p>“To fill the space,” Nora replied as the barman placed their drink order on the bar. “We all lost a lot, and Sara more than most. But I’m glad you’re here, and I have as much authority as anyone to invite you back next week.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Ava asked, taking one of the drink trays.</p>
<p>“Really,” Nora said. “I want to hear a lot more about DC, and I have so many tips for places to eat and visit, so bring a notepad.”</p>
<p>“I have one in my bag now,” Ava said as they carefully made their way back to the table.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but next week I’ll make sure everyone has their top recommendations for you. Extra incentive to come along.”</p>
<p>Ava smiled. “I’m looking forward to it already.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You awake, Cap?” Charlie asked, letting herself into Sara’s bedroom on Saturday morning and flinging open the curtains to let the weak sunshine in.</p>
<p>“No,” Sara mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.</p>
<p>Charlie chuckled and climbed up onto the bed and pulling back the covers so she could see Sara. “I think Gideon’s making us eggs. I know she makes perfect boiled eggs, but I can’t wait until we can have then fried again without using the whole week’s cooking fat ration just for one breakfast.”</p>
<p>“Yep,” Sara said, rubbing her eyes, used to Gideon’s much more gentle wake-up calls than Charlie bursting into her room.</p>
<p>“So, what are your thoughts on Miss Sharpe now we’ve had dinner with her?”</p>
<p>“What?” Sara asked, still half-asleep.</p>
<p>“I mean, she got on real well with Nora which was nice. She seems pretty switched on, but also a bit overwhelmed with the move here.”</p>
<p>“She’s nice,” said Sara, her brain still unable to string more than a couple of words together.</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, Cap,” Charlie laughed, poking at Sara.</p>
<p>Sara propped herself up and looked at Charlie. “What do you want me to say? Get off the bed, you’re wearing shoes.”</p>
<p>“She’s smart and pretty good looking and - ” Charlie smirked, ignoring Sara’s morning grumpiness.</p>
<p>“I know what you’re implying, but we don’t even know which way her interests lie, and it’s rude to assume,” Sara said. “Besides, people may have turned a blind-eye during the whole end-of-the-world-of-we-don’t-win war which just finished, but they’re getting petty again about things like… that.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know, but still. You need to stop reading the newspapers,” Charlie said. “And for what it’s worth, it was nice to meet her last night.”</p>
<p>“Mm.”</p>
<p>“She’s not replacing anyone, you know,” Charlie said. “No one will ever replace anyone else. Miss Sharpe is just… someone new. And it’s actually kinda nice.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Sara admitted. “Nora offered her a standing invitation. Guess I’ll be swinging by the Embassy again next Friday evening. I can smell Gideon making the tea,” she said, swinging her legs out of bed. “What do you think Miss Sharpe did during the war?”</p>
<p>“Dunno,” Charlie said. “Office work in DC from the sounds of it.”</p>
<p>“There’s got to be more to it than that,” Sara said. “I don’t know to tell her what we did. Or if we can at all.”</p>
<p>“We can’t,” Charlie said. “You know we can’t.”</p>
<p>“She does have a security clearance.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, but half of the things she sees would be half blacked-out. If anyone asked, we served tea and did some typing in the Foreign Office.”</p>
<p>“She knows I was commissioned.”</p>
<p>“You served tea and did the typing for some very important people then,” Charlie said.</p>
<p>Sara chuckled and tied up her dressing gown. “We better go and see what Gideon’s doing to the breakfast. It should be the Chelsea Garden Show this week. That would have been nice to go to if it was on.”</p>
<p>“Do you think it’ll be back next year?” Charlie asked, sliding off Sara’s bed.</p>
<p>“No idea,” said Sara. “Maybe it’s gone the way of a lot of other things. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Just as Nora had said, the following Friday everyone had suggestions and recommendations for places Ava should visit. They all agreed that Kew Gardens had been a good place for Ava to start, and everyone had a favourite memory of a walk or picnic in the extensive gardens. The Victoria and Albert Museum, Chelsea Physic Gardens, and Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill all got unanimous approval. There was discussion around whether or not the National Gallery and British Museum had all their art and artefacts out of storage and on display once more, and whether or not it would be worth Ava visiting whatever was there currently, or waiting until they were fully re-opened. This led to a debate regarding the merits of visiting Madame Tussaud’s at all, but by the end of the evening, Ava left with a couple of new suggestions, as well as feeling all the more eager to visit others she already had on her list.</p>
<p>Ava was almost disappointed when the evening drew to a close, and everyone collected their things to make their way home.</p>
<p>“We’ll be seeing you next week, though, right, love?” John asked.</p>
<p>For reasons she couldn’t explain, Ava glanced at Sara, who smiled.</p>
<p>“Yes,” said Ava. “I’ll see you then.”</p>
<p>“We’ll want a full report about wherever you end up visiting over the weekend,” John said, lighting another cigarette as they left the pub. “Did anyone even mention the theatre?”</p>
<p>“There’s not much showing,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“And I’d rather not go alone,” said Ava.</p>
<p>“It is interesting to hear the perspectives of a newcomer, Miss Sharpe,” Gideon said. “I’ve not been to Kew Gardens for quite some time, but now rather feel the need to visit.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps one day during the week when Charlie’s around we could head over,” Sara suggested.</p>
<p>“I shall make us a picnic, Captain,” Gideon smiled. It wasn’t lost on her that it had been a very long time since Sara was the one to initiate an outing.</p>
<p>“I’d ask you to come with us, Miss Sharpe, but I doubt the Embassy can spare you mid-week,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“The Embassy wouldn’t notice if I was there on not,” Ava said, her stomach suddenly feeling all strange despite the fact that she was unable to accept the invitation, and Sara had known that when asking. “But I don’t know how Mr Green would get on, and I’d rather not have to bring him along with us.”</p>
<p>Sara laughed. “Oh well, maybe another time. You take this cab, Gideon and I will get the next,” she said, as a cab pulled in. “I’ll see you next week.”</p>
<p>“See you then, Miss Lance,” Ava said, wishing she didn’t have to leave.</p>
<p>The following Friday rolled around, and Sara Lance was once again waiting outside the Embassy at 5 o’clock. The same happened the next week, and the one after that, when Ava struggled to hide her surprise on their walk to the pub when Sara informed her of an extra guest joining them.</p>
<p>“Charlie’s working again, but Lena got in contact to say she’ll be joining us, which is nice.”</p>
<p>“Lena…?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Lena Luthor,” Sara said. “You probably know her as the Luthor Industries heiress and society socialite.”</p>
<p>“How on earth do you know Lena Luthor?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Sara gave a nonchalant shrug, as though dining in a pub a millionaire heiress was the most common thing in the world. “Mutual friends and war things,” she said by way of explanation. “She comes along every so often when she doesn’t have anything else on, which is usually less often than she’d like.”</p>
<p>Ava didn’t know what to expect of Lena, but she hadn’t expected her to be so warm and normal. She ate and drank the same things as everyone else, seemed genuinely happy to meet Ava, and talked a lot to Ray in highly technical terms about engines and chemicals and other mechanical things Ava couldn’t keep up with.</p>
<p>“Did Lena work with Ray during the war?” Ava asked Nora when they went to collect a round of drinks. Ava found Nora easier to ask for information and more forthcoming than the others. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t been part of the whole military complex, Ava thought, so Nora didn’t have to censor herself, because she didn’t know anything she wasn’t allowed to say.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Nora said. “But Miss Luthor worked with a lot people. Luthor Industries had it’s fingers in a lot of pies and made a lot of money. Lex Luthor is nothing if not an opportunist, but Lena is - she’s different. She made sure hospitals all over the country had enough bleach and cleaning products. Most millionaires want to donate x-ray machines and build new wings, they don’t want to think about cleaning bedpans and washing sheets. She made huge donations to all sorts of charities, particularly those helping woman and children. Plus she has the most brilliant mind when it comes to engineering and machinery.”</p>
<p>“Like Ray?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Oh, she can give Ray a run for his money,” Nora smiled, glancing over at her husband and Miss Luthor deep in discussion, trying to convince the other why their version of whatever formula they had come up with was more efficient.</p>
<p>“Sara said she and Miss Luthor met via mutual friends,” Ava said, hoping for a little more information.</p>
<p>Nora gave a tight smile as the barman finished pouring their drinks. “I’m glad Lena still comes when she can,” she said. “I don’t know who else she has anymore.”</p>
<p>When everyone was together at the table, Ava noticed that they seldom mentioned the war. She wondered if that was common over her, or whether her new friends couldn’t discuss it for various non-disclosure reasons. Ava learnt that Ray had been attached to the RAF, and John had had something to do with logistics, but what the women had done, Sara in particular, was never mentioned. Every so often, someone would refer to something, and though no names were ever mentioned, Ava always felt that those references were towards one of the people in whose place she now sat. After one such mention, Ava looked across the table at Sara, who had a distant look in her eyes, and Ava wondered if someone who was no longer here had been Sara’s betrothed.</p>
<p>The following week as they walked to the pub, Ava and Sara discussed the fact that the weather had actually been a little summery for the first time all season, thanks to an abundance of sunshine. Ava started to wish the pub was further away to give her more time to chat with Sara alone, however Ava didn’t know how to suggest this to Sara, or know if Sara would like the same.</p>
<p>“Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in!” Sara said with a grin as they entered the pub.</p>
<p>“Gideon told me Lena Luthor was here last week picking up the tab, and I didn’t get an invite!” a pretty blonde woman whom Ava was yet to meet said from their usual table.</p>
<p>Sara smiled. “Good to see you, Julia.”</p>
<p>“You too, Captain. You’re looking well,” Julia said, giving Sara a hug.</p>
<p>“I’m guessing you had nothing better to do tonight?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“Guess I’d better show my face here every once in a while. And since it’s roughly an endless amount of drinks I owe you, I reckon it’s my turn to buy a round.”</p>
<p>“Well, first round’s on me, then you’re up, Jules, love,” John said, bringing the beers to the table. “Just in time, Captain, or you and Miss Sharpe would have had to wait,” he said as everyone took a glass.</p>
<p>“No worries, John,” Julia said, before turning to Ava. “Gideon mentioned you, Miss Sharpe. Julia Pennyworth. Nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>“You too,” Ava said, shaking Julia’s hand.</p>
<p>“I worked with some of this lot during the war, doing similar work,” Julia explained. “Managed to get myself in a bit of a pickle one time that only Captain Lance herself could get me out of.”</p>
<p>“I work at the US Embassy,” Ava said, still none the clearer on what Sara and her friends had actually been up to during the war.</p>
<p>“Yeah, Gideon told me that too,” Julia said, taking a sip of her beer while they all squeezed into the booth.</p>
<p>“Do you work for the British Government?” Ava asked, not sure how she was supposed to approach the topic of work.</p>
<p>“Nah, not anymore,” Julia said. “Honourable discharge. I’m at a bit of a loss, to be perfectly honest. At first it was nice to be able to catch up on a few years worth of sleep, but now, well, guess I’ll find something.”</p>
<p>“I assume you’re enjoying your new lodgings, Miss Pennyworth?” Gideon asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah, been there for a month now,” Julia said. “Dad’s flat was getting a bit cramped. Mrs Tyler’s place has a more room,” she said with a look that Ava didn’t understand, but everyone else appeared to. The conversation moved on to the sunshine which had bothered to show, the length of the days, and the hi-jinx happening John and Nora’s respective schools during the final weeks of the school year. The conversation looped back around to housing, and Ava mentioned the hotel, wondering if she really should be looking for her own accommodation, as she doubted the Embassy would be wanting to pay for her room for the entirety of her time in London.</p>
<p>“I would not be concerned, Miss Sharpe,” Gideon said. “When the accounts department receives the hotel bill each month, they will not know which of the expenses are yours, and which belong to someone else, as I presume it presented as item type, rather than who exactly is racking up the bill, as they say.”</p>
<p>“You’re not the only one at the hotel who the Embassy is paying for, is what Gideon is trying to say,” Sara said. “And she’s right. There’d be men staying in penthouse suites and spending more on wine in an evening that you do on food and drink in a month, and the Embassy doesn’t bat an eyelid.”</p>
<p>“It sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me,” said Julia. “Plus you might have noticed that London has a bit of a housing shortage at the moment, so finding somewhere suitable is a challenge to say the least.”</p>
<p>“Quite correct, Miss Pennyworth. Unless an alternate situation which is preferable to the hotel presents itself, I should not be worried about your living situation in the slightest, Miss Sharpe,” Gideon said in such a way that Ava had no choice but to believe her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Though Ava had long since learnt how to walk from the Embassy to the pub, Sara continued to met her every Friday evening outside the Embassy and Ava didn’t complain. They didn’t have time to talk about anything remotely personal or serious during the short walk, though one Friday in July Sara surprised Ava by asking if she’d like to go for a walk during the week.</p>
<p>“After work, or lunchtime, or…?” Ava asked, not entirely sure if there was some subtext to this she wasn’t understanding, but most definitely wanting to go.</p>
<p>“At lunchtime, if that works best for you?” Sara suggested. “And any day is fine, it doesn’t matter much for me.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Ava asked, excited butterflies forming in her stomach. “I mean, yes. I’d like that.”</p>
<p>“Monday? If that suits?”</p>
<p>“Yes. That sounds perfect,” Ava smiled.</p>
<p>“Good. I’ll meet you at 1 o’clock?” Sara asked, hoping Ava couldn’t tell her nervous she felt as she tucked a lose strand of hair back behind her ear.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ava said, wishing she had something more substantial to add, but having no idea what the correct response was and was grateful when they rounded the corner and the pub came into view.</p>
<p>On Monday at one o’clock, Ava found Sara waiting outside the Embassy, and Sara led Ava on a loop through nearby Hyde Park.</p>
<p>“How did you not realise the park was so big?” Sara asked for the umpteenth time with a laugh. “Your hotel is directly opposite it. You study maps for fun.”</p>
<p>“My room overlooks the courtyard, not the park,” Ava said, feeling silly despite knowing Sara’s light teasing was only fun. “And for some reason, I’d just dismissed it as a bigger version of Grosvenor Square. I didn’t realise it was this big.”</p>
<p>“Ava Sharpe, what are we going to do with you?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>Ava looked at her and smiled. “Maybe I need a guide for this city, rather than just some recommendations?”</p>
<p>“Well, you’ve got one now,” Sara smiled.</p>
<p>Monday lunchtime walks immediately became as much of a fixture of Ava’s weeks as Friday night drinks. A wet but sunny July turned into a wet and gloomy August. Ava and Gary were getting towards the end of sorting the archive files from 1939, and Ava was looking forward to having a little more space in the archives room when they started to tackle the files from 1940, of which there were almost three times as many. They were getting quicker as the weeks went by, but Ava also knew that the paperwork they were handling was about to get much more complicated.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know what I was doing during the war,” Ava confessed to Sara during a Monday walk in late August. Summer had passed with little more than a whimper, and Ava could tell that the city was already preparing for a long winter. They’d stopped on their walk to look at the ducks, geese and swans on the The Serpentine, leaning against the railing on the bridge on Carriage Drive. “Not really.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, I don’t think you’re the only one in that boat,” Sara said, standing beside her.</p>
<p>“No,” Ava said. “I literally didn’t know. What I thought I was doing, I… that wasn’t it. Maybe I was naive. I probably was. Looking back, there were signs that what was happening was more than just what was going on in my office in DC, but… I didn’t know it was <em>that</em>.”</p>
<p>“It was what?” Sara asked, not knowing what possibly could have been so secretive in DC.</p>
<p>“The Manhattan Project,” Ava exhaled, not caring if Sara was supposed to know or not. If she didn’t talk to someone about it, she was worried it would end up killing her.</p>
<p>“Oh, damn,” Sara breathed. “Well, you really couldn’t have known…”</p>
<p>“It’s easy to pretend that,” Ava said. “It’s easier to just be Miss Sharpe from archives, and pretend that I never saw anything that gave any clues, or hinted at there being something much larger than what we thought we were doing. But by doing that I’m lying to myself and to all those people…”</p>
<p>“Ava…”</p>
<p>“It was so many people, Sara. And civilians. They were mostly civilians and…”</p>
<p>Sara inched closer to Ava, so that their shoulders and elbows were touching. To her knowledge, she had never killed anyone who hadn’t deserved it. Some days it was hard to live with what she’d done, but when she looked around now, she had to believe it was worth it. Dwelling on what it had cost her was like looking into a bottomless pit, and the day and company were too fine to let herself do that now.</p>
<p>“Ava, you didn’t know,” Sara said, turning to look at Ava. “No one but those at the very top could have known. You’re not a scientist or an engineer or a military specialist. You’re a damn fine archivist. And you couldn’t have known. I wouldn’t have, or Gideon or Ray or Lena or anyone. People over here didn’t believe it when they first heard.”</p>
<p>“People in the States didn’t either,” Ava mumbled, unable to meet Sara’s eye. “But…”</p>
<p>“Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier, I know,” Sara said. “But you’re a good person, Ava Sharpe. I know that.”</p>
<p>“How?”</p>
<p>“Because you feel like this about it. You wouldn’t feel so crappy if you weren’t.”</p>
<p>Ava gave a sad smile and turned to Sara. “You’re a good person, too.”</p>
<p>“We’re not talking about me,” Sara said, bumping Ava’s shoulder and looking back over the Serpentine. “The locals here generally prefer not talking about things, but if you want to talk, well, you know.”</p>
<p>“Thank-you,” Ava said. “You’re a good friend, Miss Lance.”</p>
<p>“Have you been to Westminster Abbey yet?” Sara asked, unable to meet Ava’s eyes, and asking the question even though she already knew the answer.</p>
<p>“No, why?” Ava asked, wondering about the sudden change of topic.</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “It feels - I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. But it feels right. It’s worth a visit. Go to choral evensong or something.”</p>
<p>“Would you come with me?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Sara looked up. “Maybe,” she said, unable to hide a smile.</p>
<p>“I’m guessing it’s on every day?”</p>
<p>“Yes, but unless you escaped from the office early, we wouldn’t make it in time. Maybe we could go Sunday?” Sara suggested. “Unless you have other plans?”</p>
<p>“No,” said Ava. Even if she did, she knew she’d change them for Sara. “That would be nice. But I - this sounds silly, but what if I… I haven’t been in a church since, well… after what I did, what I was part of…”</p>
<p>“Ava, considering what I’ve done first-hand and I don’t burst into flames when crossing the threshold, I think you’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>Ava nodded, not wanting to think about exactly what Sara could have done.</p>
<p>“Cathedrals just feel special. Or something,” Sara said. “You don’t need to be particularly religious to appreciate them.”</p>
<p>“Are you?”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “I guess I believe in hell, because I’ve been there. And I have to believe that people go somewhere better when they die, because Laurel… that’s where Laurel would be.”</p>
<p>“Laurel?”</p>
<p>“My sister,” Sara said with a sad smile.</p>
<p>“Oh,” said Ava. She realised that they’d never discussed their families, and now understood why. “I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“Me too,” said Sara. “She was a stenographer at the Starling City Law Courts. She was offered a position in the Federal Courts, but with the war going on, she decided to sign-up instead. First she was sent to Hawaii, post Pearl-Harbour, then island-hopped around the Pacific on the staff of one of the Generals. But,” Sara sighed and looked back at the ducks. “She ended up with malaria, and… In one of dad’s letters it says which island she’s buried on, in the small military cemetery. I doubt I’ll ever get out there. So, I… I don’t know. In the Abbey, I feel closer to her and… that probably sounds stupid. She’s literally buried on the other side of the world.”</p>
<p>“It doesn’t sound stupid,” Ava said. “It sounds perfectly normal, actually. Were you and Laurel close?”</p>
<p>“Most of the time,” Sara said. “It was just the two of us, with a two year age gap. I haven’t seen her since I left Starling City back in ’36, but we never stopped exchanging letters. It’s been two years and two months, but every time Gideon brings in the mail I can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed that there’s not another letter. Don’t tell Gideon I said that, though,” she said, looking at Ava. “What about you. Any siblings?”</p>
<p>“I’m the youngest of twelve,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“Bloody hell!” Sara exclaimed.</p>
<p>Ava laughed, used to the reaction. “I’m not particularly close to anyone though. We all send Christmas and birthday letters, and I more or less keep up correspondence with mom and dad, but… well, one of my brothers died in Indonesia. All four of the boys served in some capacity. I’m the only one not married, though since my parents became grandparents for the first time when I was only six, there was never any pressure on me to get married and have children. Sometimes I think they forget that I’m not, or they confuse me with Amy or Alice or Ivy.”</p>
<p>“Have you ever been… in an understanding?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“I’m not really the husband kind,” Ava said, looking out over the water.</p>
<p>Sara did the same, and bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from smirking.</p>
<p>“What about you?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Nothing formal,” Sara said, unsure as to how to explain her past relationships. “Nothing properly conventional, either. I’m still on the fence about whether I’m the husband kind.”</p>
<p>Ava nodded, oddly relieved to know that Sara hadn’t been engaged. She looked at her watch. “I guess I’d better get back to the Embassy, or Mr Green will wonder what has become of me.”</p>
<p>Sara nodded and stood up straight, wishing she could hold Ava’s hand. “I’ll walk you back.”</p>
<p>“Is it odd that I’m looking forward to choral evensong already?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Sara smiled. “Considering it’s at Westminster Abbey? Not in the slightest.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Ava kept an eye on the time as she crossed Westminster Square, checking for the dozenth time that she wasn’t late while hoping to spot Sara amongst the people either out for a Sunday afternoon walk, or heading to the Abbey for choral evensong. She saw Sara waiting against the fence, wearing a smart red coat and black hat, her blonde hair sitting perfectly around her shoulders. Ava smiled and waved as she crossed the road.</p>
<p>“I hope I’m not late?”</p>
<p>“Just in time,” Sara said. “It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t matter if you’re sitting near the front or the back, the acoustics are all the same.” Sara had to stop herself from taking Ava’s hand as they joined the queue of people shuffling inside for the service.</p>
<p>As soon as Ava crossed the threshold into the Abbey, she felt shivers go up her back. The Abbey had been damaged during the Blitz, but had been deemed a priority building for reconstruction and repair work. Some windows were still missing, and there was scaffolding up inside and out where repairs works were still underway, but despite this Ava had to agree with Sara that there was something innately special about the building. As she looked around Ava was glad she wasn’t supposed to say anything, because she couldn’t find words for what she was feeling. They took their seats, and within moments the organ started playing the prelude, and Ava felt the shivers down her back all over again. She looked at Sara, who sat with her jaw clenched and had a far-away look about her. Ava wanted to reach over and take Sara’s hand, but she kept her hands clasped firmly in her lap, waiting for the service to start.</p>
<p>Ava could feel the music around her as though it was a physical things. She took in her surroundings, paying more attention to them than the service itself, but had a feeling she wasn’t the only one. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t see past the Quire screen and Ava wasn’t entirely sure where the organ pipes were, the sound and atmosphere was otherworldly all the same. Ava looked around at the towering columns, the arches, the windows, the countless memorials, burial chambers, tombs, graves and statues. Ava didn’t understand how a building filled with a thousand years of dead people could feel so alive. The music swirled around, and Ava looked at Sara, who was gazing up at the vaulted ceiling. She seemed to sense that Ava was looking at her, and for a moment their eyes met.</p>
<p>On their way out of the Abbey after the service, they passed the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, and Ava got shivers once more. She wished she could stay and explore the Abbey properly, but that would have to wait for another day when it was open for such things. Now that she’d visited for a service, Ava hoped to do that sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Outside, the world almost seemed a little surreal, as though it couldn’t really have been happening at a normal speed while they were inside.</p>
<p>“So, would you like to come back for tea?” Sara asked, breaking Ava’s reverie.</p>
<p>“That - ah, tea?” Ava asked, the late afternoon seeming too bright and too real, and feeling oddly disorientated.</p>
<p>“There’ll be enough to eat,” Sara said as they rejoined the general public on the footpath. “We had a fairly big Sunday lunch, and Gideon always does something wonderful with the leftovers.”</p>
<p>It took Ava a moment to realise that Sara was inviting her back to her townhouse. “Really?”</p>
<p>“Gideon made roast beef with all the trimmings. It’s a bit easier to get decent vegetables at this time of year, which helps.”</p>
<p>“I mean, you’d like to me to come to tea?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Sure, why not?” Sara said with a little shrug. “It’ll be fun. A bit less chaotic than Friday night drinks. But if you…”</p>
<p>“No,” Ava said. “I mean, yes, I - I’d love to come.”</p>
<p>“Great,” Sara grinned. “Come on. We’re taking the Tube.”</p>
<p>Without being entirely sure as to who took the initiative, Ava and Sara linked arms as they walked across to Westminster Station, leaving the Abbey and it’s still-chiming bells behind them.</p>
<p>“Do you go to often choral evensong?” Ava asked not long afterwards as they made their way out of Earl’s Court Station and onto the high street. She looked around at the neat Victorian buildings, many of which looked untouched by the war.</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “Not really. We last went on the VE Day Anniversary, before that at Easter, and before that on Christmas.”</p>
<p>Ava pursed her lips. “But if you - if it makes you feel closer to Laurel, like you said…”</p>
<p>“Oh, Gideon and Charlie don’t know that,” Sara said. “Cross here.”</p>
<p>They crossed Earl’s Court Road and continued heading north.</p>
<p>“You haven’t told them?”</p>
<p>Again, Sara shrugged. “They know pretty much everything, but I’m allowed to keep that to myself. Well, more or less,” she smiled, looking up at Ava.</p>
<p>Ava blushed. “Well, I - thank-you. For telling me.”</p>
<p>“Laurel wasn’t the first person I lost,” Sara said. “And she was far from the last. But I - once I found out she died, it was like something inside of me broke. I didn’t feel things properly. Maybe I couldn’t. Maybe it was a survival technique, I don’t know. The other losses, they still hurt, but it wasn’t the same. More like a dull ache. Putting my walls up like that meant that the bad things didn’t get so close, but it worked the other way too. The good things couldn’t get in, either. Check for traffic,” she said, as the stopped at Cromwell Road. “But I have to admit, things have gotten better over the summer.”</p>
<p>Ava didn’t know how to respond as they checked for cars. She noticed that she was now used to looking right then left for oncoming traffic.</p>
<p>“We were fairly lucky around here,” Sara said as they reached the other side of the road. “I mean, plenty of places were hit in the bombing, but the area was by no means flattened. We had all windows at the front of our house blown out, but at the back they’re all still there. Even that’s lucky, considering a few houses across the square were completely flattened. We were able to get new glass for the bottom couple of levels fairly quickly. Gideon’s been harassing everyone she can for us to get more for the upper floors before winter, as those rooms are pretty much unusable without windows. At least we don’t really need the rooms with just the three of us, but it would be nice to be able to use them again.”</p>
<p>Ava nodded as they turned down a street filled with identical, neat, white, multi-story late-Victorian townhouses. “These are nice houses,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“It’s a pretty nice area,” Sara said. “It’s not Mayfair or St James, but it’s not bad.”</p>
<p>“It feels more homely than around the hotel and the Embassy,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“True,” Sara said, looking around at the familiar line of townhouses on the street she called home. “Well, here we are.” She led Ava up the steps of a smart townhouse of which the windows on the upper floors were boarded up, and opened the door. “Gideon, I’m home. And Miss Sharpe is here for tea.”</p>
<p>“Very good, Captain Lance,” Gideon called from elsewhere in the house in return. “Tea will be ready shortly.”</p>
<p>“You can leave your coat here,” Sara said, removing her hat and coat and opening a small cloakroom.</p>
<p>“Ava Sharpe, come to tea,” Charlie grinned, coming down the stairs. “Good to see you.”</p>
<p>“You too,” Ava said, embarrassingly getting stuck in her coat.</p>
<p>“I think Gideon’s turned the leftovers from lunch into a pie, and she bought some huge, ripe blackberries from the market yesterday. They’re so good at this time of year,” Charlie said while Ava awkwardly forced herself out of her coat.</p>
<p>Sara ushered Ava into the drawing room, decorated with pretty cream wallpaper, a traditional fireplace, very full bookshelves, and large world globe. There was a very nice pair of art-deco lamps, and a couple of framed photographs scattered about. Ava waited a moment as Charlie and Sara sat in their usual places, before settling on an armchair, hoping it wasn’t Gideon’s preferred seat.</p>
<p>Ava was surprised by how at home she felt at Sara’s townhouse, and how easy the conversation flowed. Gideon soon appeared with the tea things, along with a delicious savoury pie and chutney, and a big bowl of huge blackberries and a plate of shortbread biscuits. While they chatted and ate with their good-china plates on their laps, Ava looked across the drawing room at Sara, who sat with her legs crossed, her skirt falling over her knees. Ava wasn’t quite sure what she was doing when her eyes fell upon Sara’s shear-stockinged legs. She’d never really looked at Sara’s legs before. It was hard to do so when walking or sitting at a table. Ava couldn’t help but take in Sara’s well-toned legs and shapely ankles, and noticed for the first time a scar on her left leg which started about two inches above her ankle, and wrapped around the back of her calf. Ava swallowed and quickly looked up as though she has seen something she shouldn’t have, but her eyes immediately caught Sara’s. Sara’s face didn’t betray what she was thinking, but Ava blushed and quickly looked away, feeling as though she’d intruded on something personal.</p>
<p>Once the teapot was empty, and the last of the blackberries and shortbread biscuits eaten, Ava decided that as much as she’d like to stay, it was time to go home. Gideon knew off the top of her head that the next bus was in 14 minutes, and Sara offered to walk Ava to the bus stop.</p>
<p>“Isn’t it just on Cromwell Road?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Yes, but I’ll show you where, since this is your first time here and everything,” said Sara, purposefully avoiding Charlie and Gideon’s knowing looks as she grabbed her coat.</p>
<p>Ava didn’t comment on the fact that they’d more or less walked pass the bus stop on their way from the Tube station, but she was very glad that Sara made the offer. Ava said goodnight to Charlie and Gideon, thanking Gideon for the meal before she and Sara headed out.</p>
<p>“I gotta say,” Sara said as they made their way towards the bus stop, the last rays of sun trying to brighten up the evening. “I can’t recommend visiting Lyon while it’s occupied by hostile forces.”</p>
<p>Ava looked at Sara, not sure what she was talking about.</p>
<p>Sara raised her eyebrows.</p>
<p>“In Lyon you…? Oh. Oooh,” Ava said as she understood what Sara was referring too.</p>
<p>“There we go,” Sara said. “Grenade shrapnel in the calf isn’t the usual souvenir, but maybe in a few years once they’ve had time to rebuild the bridges and fix the place up, it might be nice to go back. The food in that region is pretty good, at least it’s supposed to be when the farms aren’t destroyed and aforementioned occupying forces aren’t taking the bulk of the remaining food.”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course,” Ava said, getting the odd impression that Sara was inviting her to one day visit Lyon with her. “I - I, umm, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare earlier.”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “Eh, it happens. I think Gideon still has it in a draw somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Has what?”</p>
<p>“The shrapnel. I brought it back with me, lodged in nice and secure. If I had of pulled it out I probably would have bled to death. I got lucky, really, that it didn’t sever my achilles or break my leg.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Right,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t kidding when I said you might come across my name in some of those files,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“I’m beginning to realise that,” Ava said. “I haven’t yet, but I - I’ll keep an eye out.”</p>
<p>“There are more,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“Pieces of shrapnel?”</p>
<p>Sara shook her head. “Injuries,” she swallowed.</p>
<p>Ava looked at Sara. Their eyes met and they stopped walking. “From grenades in Lyon?” Ava asked, already guessing and fearing the answer.</p>
<p>“No,” Sara said. “From… another time. I - it’s not a conversation for now.”</p>
<p>“Oh, no, of course not, I didn’t mean - I… sorry, I - ”</p>
<p>“Ava,” Sara chuckled, taking Ava’s hand. “Don’t keep apologising. What happened in Lyon has a short version. The other thing… not so much. And it’s definitely not for a sunny summer’s evening while walking down Earl’s Court Road to the bus stop. Come on, or you’ll miss the bus,” she said, tugging Ava along towards Cromwell Road. Sara didn’t know how to say it, or even if she should, but she felt impossibly light having shared just this tiny amount of information with Ava. “And I’m not sure how or where just yet,” she said, “But Miss Sharpe, I am determined to take you dancing.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ava flopped onto her bed when she returned to the hotel and stared up at the ceiling. She wished she could have brought Sara back with her, or have stayed at Sara’s townhouse. She wished she could have sat on the couch with Sara and pulled her into her arms. She wanted Sara to curl up in her lap, so that she could trace the scar down Sara’s calf and discovered whatever other marks lay hidden under clothing and do her best to kiss them better. She wanted to hold her, and be held by her. She wanted to know what Sara’s beautiful, pink lips felt like against her own. And she most definitely wanted to go dancing with her.</p><p>Ava didn’t know how to articulate any of that to Sara. She didn’t know if she should. She didn’t even know if she legally could. Ava had only just got her head around the currency, and they didn’t exactly hand out booklets on this sort of matter upon arrival. Was there some way to say it? Some way to ask? Was there some magic word she didn’t know, but Sara would understand? Ava sighed, unable to see any way in which what she wanted was possible. She knew it wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural, but she couldn’t be the only person in the world to feel this way, and she’d never felt quite like this towards anyone else before. Ava wanted to protect Sara from the world, from her past, from any evil forces in the future. She wanted her to be happy, and she wanted to be happy with her. She wanted Sara to have nice things, and wanted to be the one to provide them. Ava wondered if this was what being in love felt like. Of course, there was no one she could ask, but if it was, then it had to be the most normal and natural thing in the world.</p><p>…</p><p>Sara opened her eyes. There was light seeping in underneath the curtain, but she still felt tired. Sara could feel the warmth of someone beside her and rolled over.</p><p>“Dammit,” she mumbled. She didn’t remember which nightmare she had had, or calling out in her sleep, or waking and being comforted and falling back to sleep, but Charlie wouldn’t be there asleep beside her if that hadn’t been the case. Sara assumed that not remembering was some sort of safety mechanism in her own mind, but Charlie’s presence explained why Sara currently felt so drained.</p><p>“Morning, Cap,” Charlie mumbled into the pillow.</p><p>“Morning,” Sara said. “Sorry, I - ”</p><p>“No apologies, you know that,” Charlie said, cutting Sara off as she rolled over and sat up. “I didn’t meant to fall asleep here, sorry. It’s been a while…”</p><p>“Yeah,” Sara said, trying to remember the last time she’d had nightmares so bad they’d woken Charlie. It had be a couple of months at least. “I think I - I mentioned something to Miss Sharpe yesterday. It must have triggered something and caused the dreams.”</p><p>“You told her about the war?” Charlie asked intrigued, propping herself up on her elbow.</p><p>“I gave very simplistic details about Lyon,” Sara said. “It felt good to mention it. And I talked a bit about Laurel.”</p><p>“Sara Lance, you are so besotted.”</p><p>Sara sat up. “I am not.”</p><p>“You are,” Charlie grinned, poking Sara in the ribs. “I saw how you were looking at her yesterday. I know I haven’t been to Friday night drinks for a few weeks, but I bet you look at her the same way then. I’ll ask Gideon. She’ll know if you do.”</p><p>“Charlie - ” Sara started, but didn’t know what she was trying to say. She’d told Ava things she’d never discussed with anyone, and it had felt like the most natural and comfortable thing in the world. She wanted to share everything with Ava, but had no idea if that was even possible. Sara looked at Charlie, deciding she needed a confident. “She has said she’s not the husband type.”</p><p>Charlie’s eyes widened. “So you think she means…?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Sara sighed. “I want to, but I - are there even words to say what we mean? Is she like us, liking both? Or only girls? Or not, and meant something else by the husband line?”</p><p>“She does seem fairly old-fashioned.”</p><p>“I know,” said Sara. “But I think under that stern hairstyle and boring clothes…”</p><p>“You hope, you mean.”</p><p>“What do I do, Charlie?” Sara asked, flopping back against the pillows. “How do other people figure it out?”</p><p>“You really are out of form, Captain Lance,” Charlie said. “Back in the day, a little problem like not having the correct terminology never stopped you.”</p><p>“This is different,” Sara said. “I don’t just want to - I don’t want to wreck this, Charlie. I don’t want to hurt her, and saying something could scare her off, especially if I’m wrong. If I screw up our friendship…”</p><p>“Is it worth the risk, though?” Charlie asked.</p><p>Sara looked at Charlie.</p><p>“Love is worth the risk, you know.”</p><p>“Now you’re sounding like Zari,” Sara said, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, well, imagine I got a letter from her telling me to tell you that,” Charlie said with a longing look about her.</p><p>Sara nodded. “But if I - there’s so much more she needs to know.”</p><p>“Sara, there’s things she can’t know. Things that thanks to secrecy agreements, you legally cannot tell her.”</p><p>“Not specifics,” Sara said, knowing that was true. “But… generally. Because if she sees me without clothes on, she’s going to know I did more than serve tea and do some typing.”</p><p>“Aren’t you going walking with her today at lunchtime?”</p><p>“Yes,” Sara said with a yawn and stretched, making note to ask Gideon nicely if she’s be able to get out the liniment oil. “But like the majority of the general public, we remain fully clothed during our walks in Hyde Park. I wonder what Gideon’s making for breakfast?”</p><p>“Don’t change the subject. Are you making more plans with Miss Sharpe?” Charlie asked. “Take her on a romantic picnic to Box Hill or Windsor or Richmond Park this weekend? Something like that?”</p><p>“Can you get out of my bed now, please? I want to get dressed,” Sara said. She needed tea and sustenance before she even start imagining any further plans with Miss Sharpe. Talking to Charlie was making her fantasies all too real.</p><p>“Gideon’ll make you a picnic,” Charlie said, having fun lightly teasing Sara. “Or make it real special and buy a hamper from Fortnum’s.”</p><p>“Charlie?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Maybe, but please get out of my bed.”</p><p>Charlie grinned as she climbed out of Sara’s bed.</p><p>“I think we could mix a couple of Gideon’s specialities with a few nice things from Fortnum’s,” Sara said, wishing the picnic idea had been hers and not Charlie’s as she opened the curtains. “But first I need find out if Miss Sharpe is even interested in going on a picnic with me.”</p><p>“She will be,” Charlie said. “Somehow you’ll find your old, smooth form, and find some natural way to slip in the suggestion.”</p><p>“I told her I want to take her dancing,” Sara said, tying up her dressing gown. For most of the war, dancing with other women had been easy, and no one had looked twice, due to the shortage of men, though things had reverted to a disappointing ‘normal’ over the past year. “But you’re right, picnic first, dancing later.”</p><p>“Wait, you said you want to take her dancing, and I’m guessing she didn’t freak out, but you’re all worried about her maybe not wanting to go on a picnic with you?”</p><p>Sara looked at Charlie. “I am so off my game.”</p><p>“You are so smitten,” Charlie grinned and flung open the door. “Oi, Gideon! I’m gunna need some paper to write to Z!” she called down the stairs.</p><p>“Very good, Charlie,” came Gideon’s reply from downstairs.</p><p>“And you think I’m smitten,” Sara teased, sure that Gideon was already working out their paper rations.</p><p>“Hey, I know and admit how I feel as much as is possible,” Charlie said. “My girl is a couple of thousand miles away. Your’s is across the park. Take the chance, Cap. We both know it’s all too easy for it to be eternally too late.”</p><p>…</p><p>Sara almost skipped home after her walk with Ava. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so hopeful and light, and it had been years since words had rolled off her tongue in the way they had today.</p><p>“Gideon!” she called as she entered the house. “Grab your hat and the ration books, because we’re going shopping!”</p><p>“Right away, Captain Lance,” Gideon replied with a knowing smile.</p><p>…</p><p>On Friday night Ava was crammed into the booth in the pub, sitting opposite Sara and besides Nora. Sara was having an animated conversation with Ray and Gideon, and Ava couldn’t help but glance at Sara from time to time while in discussion Nora. Even though Ava knew she was hardly being subtle, she had to hope that Nora was as she was unsure as to how to address anything to do with Sara should it come up.</p><p>“When did you move to London?” Ava asked Nora, half hoping that Nora would ask about her plans for the weekend, and also half hoping that the question wouldn’t come up.</p><p>“I got here in the middle of ’41,” Nora said, having long since noticed that Ava’s eye seemed to continually wander back to Sara.</p><p>“Really?” Ava asked, wondering why anyone would have come to London during that period of the war.</p><p>“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Nora said, though Ava couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. “All right, to be honest, I was pretty much running away. I figured that no one would look for me in a big city under nightly bombardment, so this is where I ended up, and here I stayed.”</p><p>“You were running away?” Ava asked.</p><p>“Umm, my dad’s a criminal warlord,” Nora said, a little sheepishly. “There were times when I was mixed up in… well, everything going on in his world, but eventually it got to the point where I knew if I stayed I’d probably end up dead in a gutter, killed by some rival criminal warlord, which would have started a gang war, and I really didn’t want that. So I left.”</p><p>Ava couldn’t help but stare at small, unassuming Nora, and wondered how she ever could have had ties to a gang.</p><p>“Oh,” Ava said. “Well that - that’s…”</p><p>“It’s unusual, I know,” Nora said.</p><p>“Yes,” said Ava. “And yet you ended up a teacher?”</p><p>Nora chuckled. “When I first arrived, I got a job as boarding house mistress. They were in short supply of staff, and I was able to create a more palatable version of my history. However, it turns out I’m actually really good with kids and love working with them too, so I decided to get my teaching certificate. The school was very supportive, and once i had my certificate I taught there for a year, before getting a teaching position at the school I’m am now. The past school year was my first year as Sixth Form co-ordinator, and I love it. Running away was the best decision I ever made.”</p><p>“I can tell,” Ava said.</p><p>“Oh, and obviously between all of the study, teaching, and dealing with other people’s children day-in, day-out, I met and married Ray,” Nora smiled. “And found all of this lot.”</p><p>“But you weren’t connected with any of their war work?” Ava asked.</p><p>“No,” Nora said. “I am a civilian through and through. I only know the highly sanitised, ‘official’ versions of what they were all doing, and even though I’ve been able to fill in a couple of gaps myself, I know I can’t ask, and I know they can’t say.”</p><p>Ava nodded. “I understand.”</p><p>“What about you?”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“Did you come purely because you were offered the job or…?”</p><p>“It may have allowed me the chance to run away too,” Ava confessed.</p><p>“Can I ask what from?”</p><p>“You can ask,” Ava said. “But I can’t really answer.” If Ava hadn’t been able to open up to Sara, knowing that Sara had the clearance to know what Ava’s department back in DC had been a part of, she had the feeling she wold have been bursting by now, and would have had to have confided in Nora just to save her sanity. Thankfully, Ava didn’t need to break any laws or binding agreements, and Nora understood.</p><p>“I will ask no further,” Nora said.</p><p>“Thank-you.”</p><p>“For…?” Nora asked, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>“Knowing I can’t say,” Ava said. “And not being weird about it.”</p><p>Nora smiled. “We all have things we can’t say, due to personal reasons, non-disclosure agreements, or legally-binding government-issued secrecy clauses,” she said. “What about family? I hear you’re the youngest of twelve.”</p><p>“It’s not as exciting as it sounds,” Ava said.</p><p>“It is when you’re an only-child raised by gangsters,” Nora said. “Come on, excite me with your blissful, beautiful, chaotic childhood memories, and I won’t ask any questions about why you can’t seem to look at anything but Captain Lance,” she said with a wink.</p><p>…</p><p>The moment they stepped off the train, Ava was enthralled by the Windsor, with the small, quaint township overlooked by the huge, looming castle. Their first stop was a look around St George’s Chapel, before getting as close to the castle as they could.</p><p>“I’d love to see inside,” Ava said, peering through the gates.</p><p>“Hopefully they’ll let visitors back inside soon,” Sara said, swapping the picnic basket from one arm to the other as it seemed to be getting heavier as the morning wore on. “We’ll come back when they do.”</p><p>“Have you been inside?”</p><p>“Yes,” Sara said, watching Ava as she took in the castle. “Before the war. They’re lucky it wasn’t bombed, but they still removed all the treasures just in case, and I suppose it’s still a bit empty.”</p><p>“We’re definitely coming back,” Ava said, having never seen anything like it.</p><p>“Come on,” Sara said, almost reaching for Ava’s hand before stopping herself. “Let’s go find somewhere to eat this picnic.”</p><p>They ended up settled under an ancient oak tree in Windsor Great Park, the castle visible in the distance. Gideon had arranged an excellent picnic spread, filled with fresh fruit, Scotch eggs, biscuits, a small piece of Cheddar cheese, and half a bread stick, as bread had been rationed too since the beginning of the summer, plus a Thermos full of tea. The food, setting, and company all felt to Ava like something out of a children’s storybook or daydream. It didn’t matter that it was cloudy and cool, between the walking, the tea, and her good coat, she was warm enough.</p><p>“How did you end up over here?” Ava asked, lying back on the picnic blanket after they finished their meal. Even after all these months, Sara kept a lot of her past to herself, but Ava found herself wanting to know more and more about the woman she was falling for.</p><p>“By ship, same as pretty much everyone else who wasn’t born here,” Sara replied.</p><p>Ava propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Sara. “You’re not very good at giving straight answers, are you?”</p><p>“Sorry,” Sara said. “Habit. All right, then Miss Sharpe I hope you’re comfortable, because it’s time for a long story.” Sara sat up and folded her legs, pulling her skirt over her knees. “So, a very long time ago, and very far away, I was actually in medical school, training to become a doctor.”</p><p>“Really?” Ava asked, sitting up.</p><p>“Lie down!” Sara laughed. “Yes. Like I said, it was long ago, and far away. In Starling City in the early-ish ’30s. Anyway, I was more interested in partying than studying, and though I was capable of doing both, well… maybe I was just too young and immature. I don’t know, but when I was offered the opportunity to travel, I jumped at the chance.”</p><p>“You could travel through your medical school?”</p><p>“What? No,” Sara said. “I dropped out of medical school to travel. My friend Oliver… well, maybe we were both running away. He was running away from family pressure to learn how to run the family business and to get married, probably to my sister, and - ”</p><p>“You ran away with your sister’s fiancé?” Ava asked.</p><p>“They weren’t officially engaged, but Laurel wasn’t exactly thrilled,” Sara confessed. “Meanwhile, I don’t know what I was running away from. Maybe Starling City itself? California? I’d never been further south than San Francisco or north of National City, and the idea of being anywhere but there was so tempting. So Oliver and I sort of snuck away on the train in the middle of the night. We took our time crossing the continent, and I’m glad we did. It was November by time we reached New York. We spent Thanksgiving on the ship, and arrived in Southampton a couple of days after that.”</p><p>“Wait, so you just left everything and - went off with some guy?” Ava asked. “Were you and he…? I mean, I don’t mean to be rude or pry or…”</p><p>“Yes,” Sara said, unashamed. “For a while. Like everything else about our lifestyle at the time, it was fun and convenient. Don’t worry, he met and married a lovely girl, who is now back in the States with their beautiful baby. Anyway, before Felicity came into the picture, Oliver and I had a couple of good years doing anything and everything we wanted. You name it, we probably visited it.”</p><p>“What year did you get here?” Ava asked.</p><p>“End of ’36,” Sara said. “It’s weird that I’ve almost spent a decade here. Nearly a third of my life. That life with Ollie… now it almost feels like it happened to someone else. Like it was something I read about, or saw at the pictures, but it didn’t really happen to me. Anyway, I learnt more in those years than I had up until that point in my life. I’d learnt a bit of French at school, but Oliver and I travelled around France from top to bottom, and I became fluent, which helped immensely during the war. We visited Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands. All over the British Isles.”</p><p>“How did you have the money?” Ava asked.</p><p>Sara smiled at Ava’s practicality. “Ollie had a very healthy trust-fund and monthly allowance. We’d occasionally splurge, but often we’d just stay in local hotels and bedsits, and eat wherever the locals ate.”</p><p>“What did your family think?” Ava asked, still not sure what to make of it all.</p><p>Sara shrugged. “At first they were appalled, but eventually they got over it. My dad wrote Oliver a letter saying words to the effect of ‘you take care of my baby girl, or else’, and Oliver did. He - just before the war broke out, he bought the house, but put it my name. I didn’t know that, at the time. It wasn’t until later, once he married Felicity, that I found out.”</p><p>“Your Kensington house?” Ava asked.</p><p>“Yep,” said Sara. “So I got a house, he got a wife, and the whole world had their lives thrown upside down because the war had started.”</p><p>“And then what happened?” Ava asked, having guessed that Sara’s past had been rather colourful, but never having imagined anything quite like this.</p><p>Sara took a deep breath. “We all got real jobs, I guess. We - I… Ava, you know I can’t say.”</p><p>“I know,” Ava said. “But officially?”</p><p>“Officially, we made tea and did the typing at the Foreign Office.”</p><p>“Which you got commissioned for?”</p><p>“I made the tea and did the typing for some very important people,” Sara smirked.</p><p>“And ended up in Lyon?”</p><p>“Got lost on the way to Whitehall one day.”</p><p>Ava couldn’t help but laugh. “So after all those adventures, you decided to stay, while Oliver went back to America with his wife and kid?”</p><p>“No,” Sara said, the colour draining from her face.</p><p>Ava’s stomach tightened as realisation hit her. Between the weak sunshine and the delicious lunch and listening to Sara talk, somehow she only just realised that Sara referred to Oliver in past tense. “I - I’m sorry, I - ”</p><p>“Ollie ended up volunteering with General Eisenhower’s army,” Sara said. “After everything we’d done, he went and got himself killed being a hero on Omaha Beach.”</p><p>“Oh, Sara, I’m so sorry,” Ava breathed.</p><p>“Mm,” Sara said, her jaw tight. She looked out into the trees.</p><p>Ava reached over and took Sara’s hand. Sara looked down at their hands, and gave Ava’s a squeeze. Ava had no idea what to say, and was sure that whatever she tried to say would be all wrong. She didn’t know how to tell Sara how sorry she really was. Ava squeezed Sara’s hand in return, hoping that the gesture would tell Sara at least some of what Ava didn’t know how to say verbally. </p><p>“He was the only one here who knew Laurel,” Sara said after a minute, still holding Ava’s hand. “He found out that she - that she’d died before I did because I was… not in London at the time. And then when I… got the news, he wasn’t around. Then he was for a bit, and then he - he went and… I can’t even bring myself to go to the cemetery. It’s just a boat-ride across the Channel, but I - I’ve crossed the Channel so many times. We all have. And in the end, it felt like every time there was someone who didn’t come back, and Ollie’s the only one who gets a grave and - ” Sara stopped and swallowed heavily. She was not about to cry in the park on a Saturday afternoon, especially when the sun had finally decided to make an appearance. Sara looked down, and noticed how tightly she was gripping Ava’s hand. “Sorry,” she said, letting go.</p><p>“It’s fine,” Ava said, flexing her fingers. “I - if you ever need to… I… maybe we should go for a walk? Before we have to get back on the train?”</p><p>Sara nodded and sniffed. “Sorry,” she said again.</p><p>“You have nothing to apologise for,” Ava said, brushing down her skirt and starting to pack up the basket. “If you ever need anything, I - I’m here for you, Sara.”</p><p>Sara smiled softly as she stood up, wishing she could pull Ava into her arms and kiss her, one of those silly, romantic dips you see in the movies. Sara always thought that was unrealistic and ridiculous, but if she could do it with Ava… “I’ll let you know. Let me help with that, then we’ll go see if we can spot some deer or squirrels or something on the way back into town.”</p><p>“Sara, I…” Ava started, and grabbed Sara’s hand.</p><p>Sara looked at their hands, then at Ava. “I know,” she said softly as their eyes met, before adjusting her grip to help Ava to her feet.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Gideon, I’m home! I - oh, Julia Pennyworth, fancy seeing you here,” Sara said, entering the house and seeing Julia sitting in the drawing room with Gideon, a half-empty plate of biscuits and the tea things on the coffee table.</p>
<p>“Captain Lance,” Julia smiled. “You’re looking awfully pleased with yourself.”</p>
<p>“I’ve been out walking with Miss Sharpe,” Sara said as she grabbed a biscuit and sat down, though she suspected Julia was quite aware as to where she’d been. “Is Charlie around?”</p>
<p>“She just went to the post office to send a telegram, Captain,” Gideon said. “No doubt she will return shortly.”</p>
<p>“Did something happen?” Sara asked, not sure why Charlie would be racing off to the post office, and not just leaving instructions for Gideon.</p>
<p>“Charlie received a letter, Captain which required urgent response. She did seem quite excited when she left,” Gideon explained.</p>
<p>Sara nibbled on her biscuit, thinking that all sounded a bit strange, especially since Julia was there visiting.</p>
<p>“So, how’s your Miss Sharpe?” Julia asked with a smirk.</p>
<p>“How’s your Mrs Tyler?” Sara responded with her mouth full.</p>
<p>“Things are going well,” Julia said. “It’s an strange situation, though. Soph and Mr Tyler were really good friends. I think she even loved him, but she definitely wasn’t in love with him, if you get what I mean. She was under a lot of pressure from her family to marry, and from a couple of things she’s said, I think she thought marrying would ‘fix’ any ‘problems’, but of course that’s not how it works. And of course they had the added challenges of being a mixed-race couple. With Mr Tyler joining Eisenhower’s staff, and them moving over here, well, it’s worked out well for me and Soph, not so much for poor old Mr Tyler.”</p>
<p>“The Merry Widow indeed,” Gideon said, sipping her tea. Mr Tyler had met his fate in France just over two years ago, leaving his young widow all alone in a foreign country, though Sophie already had ties with Julia and some of their other friends.</p>
<p>“She gets the war widow pension and all his assets,” Julia said. "All that’s settled now. Obviously, she feels a bit weird about it though. It was a marriage of convenience, especially for Soph, but she was fond of him. There’s been a few kinks for us to iron out, but - ow…” Julia put her cup down and stretched her hand.</p>
<p>“Are you all right?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>Julia opened and closed her fingers a few times. “It hasn’t been too bad, lately,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s the marginally warmer and dryer weather, or perhaps it’s just getting better. The doctors are no bloody help. Apparently there’s not much they can do for this sort of injury. You still pulling up all right?”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “I guess. Gideon works wonders with the liniment oil.” Julia was one of the few people Sara felt able to talk about her injuries with, as Julia had suffered similarly. During one mission while working alongside the Resistance in France, Julia had been captured. When Sara’s unit heard about it, Sara broke ranks and disobeyed orders to go and get her back, knowing that if she didn’t go, no one would. Sara always felt worse about having had forced the injured Julia to walk before miles before they could get help than what she had done to Julia’s captors. Julia’s injuries had left her with nerve damage in her arms and a tremor in her hands which came and went which was enough to see her honourably discharged from active service.</p>
<p>“Soph’s not bad at giving a massage herself,” Julia smirked. “And what about your Miss Sharpe? How do her hands go?”</p>
<p>Sara rolled her eyes. Julia chuckled. The front door flung open and Charlie entered.</p>
<p>“Oi, Gideon! I - Oh, good, Cap, you’re back!” Charlie said, bounding into the drawing room.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“I know I sent a letter last week, but can I scribble something off now?”</p>
<p>“Of course, Charlie,” Gideon replied.</p>
<p>“I’ll write small and only use one sheet, I promise. But I had to send a telegram right away,” Charlie said, the words all coming out a hundred miles an hour.</p>
<p>“Very good, Charlie,” Gideon smiled.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“Zari,” Charlie grinned. “She’s coming back.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The general feeling at the pub on Friday night was elated as Charlie, Sara and Gideon filled everyone in on Zari’s impending arrival.</p>
<p>“Just settle down a bit though, she hasn’t booked anything yet,” Charlie laughed at John’s enthusiasm. “It’s easy enough to get a ship to Bari or even around to Marseilles, but trains across Europe are still a nightmare, especially trying to get connections.”</p>
<p>“But if she says she’ll be here before the winter, then she’ll be here, love,” John said with a smile as he lit another cigarette. Ava couldn’t recall ever seeing John smile so broadly or genuinely, and even Ray seemed even cheerier than usual, something Ava hadn’t thought was possible.</p>
<p>“Does Zari have a house here?” Ava asked awkwardly, trying to be part of the conversation, but finding it difficult. She could recall Zari’s name being dropped a couple of times over the past few months, but it had never crossed her mind that this woman was was away somewhere might return.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Sara grinned. “With me. Gideon’s been pushing extra hard this week for progress on the upstairs windows, because we’re going to need start using those rooms again.”</p>
<p>“That I have, Captain,” Gideon said. “It would be most disappointing for her to return home and the house still to be in it’s current state.”</p>
<p>Ava nodded and sipped her beer, a low level of jealously bubbling away inside her. She knew the feeling was childish, but she couldn’t help it.</p>
<p>“I can’t wait,” Charlie beamed. “Z was there before me, and the house feels different without her sarcasm and snarky comments and taking up all the hot water for her bath.”</p>
<p>“Before you…?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Moved in,” Charlie said. “I haven’t always lived with Sara.”</p>
<p>“No, of course not,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“One night during the middle of Blitz the place a few doors down from mine was bombed,” Charlie explained. “The authorities said everyone in the street had to leave until they could guarantee the structural integrity of everyone’s joint. I sent a telegram, and within the hour Sara and Gideon arrived with a couple of suitcases. We packed up everything would carry, and crossed town. It’s odd to see all your stuff packed into three suitcases and a couple of boxes, plus we managed to bring my standard lamp and a painting that me granny had back at her place back in the day.”</p>
<p>“That would have been quite a sight,” Ava said, not sure what else to say, unable to imagine the stress of having to leave like that.</p>
<p>“Eh, at the time there were a lot of people moving about like that,” Charlie said. “But I got lucky. No only did Sara have space for me, but two nights later, well, the rest of the street was completely levelled. So many people lost everything and had nowhere to go, but I’ve still got me photos, I got me clothes, my books and a few other bits and pieces.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ava agreed, glancing across at Sara. “Very lucky.”</p>
<p>“I was born and raised in the East End,” Charlie said, sipping her beer. “But it’s all gone now. Literally. Everything I knew, it’s not there anymore. I know a lot of people are going back and rebuilding, but I - well, my life is in Kensington with Sara and Gideon now. And Z when she returns.”</p>
<p>“Lucky that we’re happy to keep you around then,” Sara smiled, seemingly taking part in multiple conversations at once. “Move the glasses, here comes the food.”</p>
<p>Ava tried to be happy for her friends, but the feeling felt a little forced. She didn’t know why she was jealous of a woman she’d never met who just happened to be coming back to London. Later on when she was back in her hotel room, Ava considered writing to Sara, even though the idea was faintly absurd. She didn’t know where to start or what to say, besides, she’d be seeing Sara again on Monday. What Ava really wanted, she thought as she got ready for bed, was a letter <em>from</em> Sara. She wanted something real and physical of Sara’s. Ava wondered if regular people exchanged letters with those for whom they had stronger than usual feelings towards, even if they saw them multiple times per week? Ava didn’t have the answer, and picked up her book and tried to distract herself instead.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“You don’t have to worry about Zari coming back,” Sara said to Ava on their Monday lunchtime walk.</p>
<p>“I - what do you mean?” Ava asked, watching out for puddles on the path.</p>
<p>“You looked uncomfortable the other evening,” Sara said. “You’ll like her, I promise. And I know Charlie’s told her about you, so she’s expecting to meet you.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” said Ava. “What - can I ask why she left?”</p>
<p>“She needed a break after the end of the war,” Sara said with a shrug. “I guess we all did, in one way or another, but Zari had the means and opportunity to go. Her family’s quite well off, and she was raised between here, Iran, or Persia as it was back then, and the US. She had a younger brother, Behrad. He was killed in France early on in 1940. He was only twenty.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” said Ava, trying to keep up with the names of all the people Sara had lost.</p>
<p>“He was the first one we lost,” Sara said, stuffing her hands deep into her pockets. “By the end of the war Zari just needed to get out of England for a little while. But it sounds like after twelve months back in Iran, her aunts and associated hangers-on are starting to get on her nerves a little and are pushing for marriage, so she’s opting for a strategic exit back here before winter sets in.”</p>
<p>Ava looked around at the uninspiring autumn day. “Did she work with you during the war?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Different branch,” Sara said. “Zari was in code-breaking. She’s really clever, similar to Ray and Lena, but she prefers codes and numbers, whereas they’re more into machinery and engineering things. Ava, I - ” Sara looped her arm through Ava’s. “At one stage, for Friday night drinks, we needed two tables,” she said, looking out at the soggy, yellowing trees.</p>
<p>Ava swallowed.</p>
<p>“And then we could all squeeze into one. And then…” Sara looked at Ava through tears in her eyes. “Thank-you for making us have to squeeze in again. Zari coming back will make us have to squeeze even closer, especially when Lena and Julia come along too. And just because she’s coming back - well, you’re not going anywhere. I won’t let you,” she said, bumping Ava’s shoulder. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about taking you dancing. I have Gideon and Julia looking for a location. We’ll find somewhere, I know we will.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“Umm, Miss Sharpe?”</p>
<p>“What is it, Mr Green?” Ava asked without looking up from the box of files she was sorting, still daydreaming about dancing with Sara after Sara had brought it up again on their walk. Ava had no idea what kind of venue would allow such behaviour, assuming they’d end up in Sara’s drawing room with the curtains shut and the gramophone playing, but she’d be content with that. Ava wondered what Sara would feel like in her arms. She imagined that Sara would have wonderful rhythm and perfect timing, though looks could be deceiving.</p>
<p>“I think you need to look at this,” Gary said, holding out a file. The previous week they had completed the last of the files from 1939, right on Ava’s schedule. Those boxes had been taken away on Monday to be shipped back to DC, which had given them more space. The window only opened a couple of inches, but it was better than nothing, and Ava had already put in two requests to the maintenance and facilities team to have the window fixed so it opened properly, but was yet to get a reply. Gary had found them a wireless a couple of weeks ago, and with the help of the <em>Radio Times</em>, they’d been able to figure out what days and times they would have the wireless on. Ava was quite enjoying the music program which was assisting with her daydreaming of dancing and didn’t need whatever drivel Mr Green was thinking to spoil her thoughts.</p>
<p>Ava took the file and opened it. “Put it with the other ’42 files,” she said, noticing the date at the top and the “Secret” stamps of which she saw so many of every day, she seldom paid any attention to. She suspected it would take roughly six months per year to get through the remaining five years worth of archive material, but now that they had made a start Ava wasn’t at all daunted by the task ahead of them.</p>
<p>“I know, but - in the body of the text, between the blacked-out sections…”</p>
<p>Ava took a second look at the papers, noticing that this was a copy of a file, which meant that they’d have to keep an eye out for the original. There was a lot of blacked out text on all the sheets in the file, but as her eyes scanned the page, one name jumped out at her.</p>
<p><em>Agent S. Lance</em>.</p>
<p>Ava swallowed and she felt her stomach drop. She closed the file. “Thank-you, Mr Green.”</p>
<p>“Is that - ?”</p>
<p>“Mr Green, is it time for tea?”</p>
<p>“Afternoon tea?”</p>
<p>Ava looked up and met Gary’s eye.</p>
<p>“Maybe I’ll go and get a cup of tea,” he suggested.</p>
<p>“Good idea,” Ava said.</p>
<p>Gary straightened his tie and hurried out of the archive room up the stairs. Ava gently pushed the door shut and leant against the table, opening the file again. Roughly two-thirds of the documents inside were blacked out, but a number of names were mentioned, as well as Sara’s: Agent O. Queen. Agent J. Diggle. Agent J. Jackson. Agent N. Heywood. Agent K. Danvers. Agent K. Kane. From what she was able to read, they were all Americans working for the British forces. Ava looked back at the top of the paper. It was blank, save for the date. She tried to think if she had seen any blank papers like this before, but she was sure they had all had the crest or address of the department they came from at the top.</p>
<p>Ava went to the box where Gary had found the file and rummaged through, finding two more incorrectly placed files in amongst a box otherwise filled with documents from 1940 regarding the evacuation from Dunkirk. Ava flicked through these stray files, the names jumping off the mostly blacked-out pages at her. Agent O. Queen. Agent N. Heywood. Agents S. Lance and K. Danvers. Agent O. Queen again. Agents J. Jackson and N. Heywood. Agents K. Kane, K. Danvers, and N. Heywood. Agent K. Kane. Agents O. Queen and S. Lance. Ava’s cheek were burning. Sara had been right. She was here in these files, but they were too highly censored for Ava to be able to figure out what she had been doing. She took a deep breath and closed the files, taking them over to the box in the 1942 section where they were putting the stray files from that year. As she closed the lid, Ava was filled with a terrible thought. None of her new friends had the surnames Queen, Diggle, Heywood, Jackson, Danvers or Kane. Ava felt hot tears burn at her eyes, knowing in her heart that they were all gone. All except for Sara.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ava spent the rest of the week not knowing what to do with the knowledge of existence of the files in which Sara was mentioned. She didn’t need to read <em>Boy’s Own</em> adventure books to guess at what was underneath all the blacked-out sections. Ava suspected she was simplifying the situation by thinking of how brave Sara was, but regardless of the horrible things Sara had witnessed or done, Ava didn’t think any less of her. The days passed quickly and before she knew it, Ava was being greeted by Sara outside the Embassy at five o’clock on Friday evening.</p><p>“How’s the week been?” Sara asked cheerfully as they headed off in the direction of the pub.</p><p>“Fine,” Ava replied, her heart skipping a beat. She’d been wrestling with the idea of mentioning the files to Sara all week, and still had not come to a decision. “Just the usual. What about you?”</p><p>“Pretty good, actually,” Sara said. “Yesterday, Gideon, Charlie and I finally went out to Kew Gardens. We’d been meaning to go all summer, but for some reason or other we just never got out there. A lot of the flowers are finished, but the roses were still nice, and some trees are starting to change colour. Even in the dampest, darkest days of winter, Kew is still worth visiting.”</p><p>“That sounds like it would have been lovely,” Ava said, realising it had been almost four months since her visit to the gardens. She’d been so overwhelmed by the city at the time, barely knowing a soul, and had been feeling what she now recognised as homesickness. Ava looked at Sara in her regular grey coat and red hat and smiled. “Much nicer than being stuck in the archives room.”</p><p>“It was good,” Sara continued without much need of encouragement. “Gideon packed a picnic, and Charlie needed a distraction as we’re still waiting for confirmation from Zari as to when she’s actually leaving Iran, and what her plans are to get back here.”</p><p>Ava looked at Sara. “Miss Lance, please don’t take this the wrong way, but do you actually have a job?” she asked, the thought just occurring to her.</p><p>Sara chuckled. “Not really, no. I’m still on the payroll, but hopefully by the end of the year I’ll be formally discharged. There’s all sorts of bureaucratic red-tape reasons as to why they haven’t got around to that, despite the fact that whole department I worked for has been packed up. Most of the men were transferred to other departments or picked up their old lives more or less where they left off, and pretty much everyone else was discharged due to medical reasons, or they’re dead.”</p><p>“But you were injured,” Ava said, not wishing to dwell upon the dead.</p><p>“Yeah, but I kept getting better,” Sara said.</p><p>“What will you do when you get your discharge papers?”</p><p>Sara shrugged, and looped her arm through Ava’s, their steps falling in time. “I don’t know. I have a very specific skill-set which isn’t easily transferable. Working in a shop would drive me insane, I am a terrible typist, I don’t have the patience for nursing or anything to do with children, and, well, that doesn’t leave an awful lot of options.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t consider going back to medical school?”</p><p>“Ten years after I left?” Sara said. “No, I think that ship has long since sailed. Besides, I’d have to figure out how to get into med-school over here, because I am not going back to the States. Are you doing anything tomorrow?”</p><p>“No,” Ava said, Sara’s quick change of subject not lost on her, but deciding not to push the point. “Do you have a suggestion?”</p><p>“I think the weather’s supposed to be gloomy and cold again, and I was considering going to a matinee, if you’d like to come,” Sara said, nudging her shoulder against Ava’s. “I don’t know which one yet, whatever there’s tickets available for, I guess.”</p><p>“That sounds lovely,” Ava said, “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to the theatre.”</p><p>“I’ll come to the hotel at one o’clock, then we can wander over to the theatre district and see where we can get a seat.”</p><p>“Yes, of course,” Ava smiled, her stomach fluttering at the thought of sitting beside Sara in the dark and warmth of a theatre for a couple of hours.</p><p>“Excellent. There’s John coming up. Good evening, Mr Constantine!” Sara called as they approached the pub.</p><p>“Captain Lance and Miss Sharpe. Fancy meeting you at the location we meet at every week,” John said, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.“Ladies first,” he said, holding open the door to the pub. “Any word from Zari?”</p><p>“Not yet,” Sara said, as they stepped inside. “Hopefully we’ll hear something next week. You know what mail can be like, especially when it has to cross a continent.”</p><p>They were soon squeezed into their usual booth with most of their usual party, minus Charlie who was working, and including Lena Luthor. Everyone was getting into first round of drinks, and meals ordered and were on the way.</p><p>“I received a letter from Doctor Danvers this week,” Lena said during a conversation about the slowness of international mail.</p><p>Ava’s stomach flipped. There had been a K. Danvers on the list of names, so she assumed there must be a connection. She picked up her glass and took a long, slow sip, so as not to accidentally catch Sara’s eye, incase Ava’s look betrayed her knowledge.</p><p>“Wonderful!” said Ray.</p><p>“How is she?” Sara asked.</p><p>“It sounds like she’s going well,” Lena said. “I think she’s finding some of the work a little bit boring, because it appears that despite all her experience dealing with traumas in a major hospital while London was under enemy bombardment, in National City that powers that be have decided that since she is a woman, she can only treat women and children.”</p><p>“Doctor Danvers would find that quite frustrating indeed,” said Gideon.</p><p>“Can’t you do something about it?” John asked Lena.</p><p>“If she was still here, I could,” Lena said. “I’ve been out of the US for too long to intervene. I don’t have enough contacts in the right places. I’m sure everything will work out for Alex, though. She and Miss Olsen are looking to buy a house, or at least a larger apartment. Once they’re settled, Alex said she hopes to bring Miss Olsen here to meet us all, next summer perhaps.”</p><p>“Miss Olsen’s the psychologist?” John asked.</p><p>“Yes,” Lena replied.</p><p>“Is it still a Boston Marriage if they live in National City?” Nora asked.</p><p>Sara took a sip of drink to hide her smirk.</p><p>Ava looked around. No one seemed surprised by Nora’s comment. She caught Sara’s eye, and Sara winked.</p><p>“Captain Lance and Doctor Danvers shared a very happy weekend at a wedding a couple of - ”</p><p>“Ray!” Nora said, hitting her husband on the arm.</p><p>“I thought that Miss Sharpe would - ”</p><p>“More drinks?” asked John, looking around at everyone’s glasses.</p><p>“That wedding was a lot of fun,” Sara said. “Alex is good company. Just a shame that everything went down the drain afterwards.”</p><p>Ava could feel her ears and neck burning. She smiled tightly. Someone’s foot touched her leg under the table. She caught Sara’s eye. Sara smiled. Ava wished they weren’t sitting opposite one another, so she could hold Sara’s hand. She imagined Sara’s hand on her thigh, or her hand on Sara’s.</p><p>“Another drink, Sharpie?” John asked.</p><p>“Please,” Ava croaked as she momentarily forgot how to speak.</p><p>John looked between Sara and Ava, raising his eyebrows knowingly and taking a drag of his cigarette before making his way to the bar.</p><p>…</p><p>It took almost no convincing at all on Sara’s behalf for Ava to agree to come back to her Kensington townhouse after the matinee of <em>Sweetheart Mine</em> for tea. Gideon had prepared enough for four, expecting Ava’s arrival, and they ate in the dining room before relocating to the drawing room, while Charlie went upstairs to get ready to go to work. Sara sat in her usual spot on the couch with Gideon beside her, and Ava perched on the same armchair she had sat on a previously. Sara and Ava happily gave Gideon a scene-by-scene rundown of the show, both giddy from the experience of attending the theatre for the first time in a long time.</p><p>“It wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen,” Sara admitted. “But it was a good bit of fun, and worth seeing.”</p><p>“I’m very glad you enjoyed it, Captain,” Gideon said, always happy to see Sara happy.</p><p>“I saw a poster about buying advance tickets for <em>The Wizard of Oz</em>, which they’re reviving at Christmastime, so we’ll have to see that,” Sara said, looking at Ava. “And take you to a panto before Christmas.”</p><p>“You will most certainly be getting the proper London Christmas Pantomime experience, Miss Sharpe,” Gideon said. “Hopefully 1947 brings a little more excitement back to the West End, too. We are well overdue for a must-see show.”</p><p>“Absolutely,” Charlie said, poking her head into the drawing room. “I’m heading off. I’ll see you in the morning, Cap and Gideon. Have a good evening, Miss Sharpe.”</p><p>“Good evening, Charlie,” Ava said.</p><p>“See you, Charlie,” said Sara.</p><p>Gideon stood up and went to see Charlie out.</p><p>“What aren’t you saying?” Sara asked, leaning back against the couch and looking at Ava.</p><p>“Nothing,” Ava said.</p><p>“You’re a bad liar. Whatever it is, you weren’t saying anything about it last night either.”</p><p>Ava pursed her lips. She looked around. In the hallway, Gideon and Charlie were talking, and of course there was no one else around. During the performance she’d been able to forget about her job and the files with Sara’s name printed on them, but they kept popping up in her mind, keeping her awake at night, or distracted when alone. “You were right,” Ava swallowed.</p><p>“About…?” Sara asked, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>“I found - well, actually, Mr Green found - a file with your name in it. And a half dozen other names. I think they were all Americans doing… well, doing whatever it is you did during the war. I didn’t recognise any of the names, and I won’t tell anyone, but one of them was a Danvers and then Alex Danvers was mentioned last night. Most of the contents was blacked out, so there’s not really anything I could say because it’s just a file with some names and - ” Ava stopped, realising she was babbling.</p><p>“Huh,” said Sara, kicking off her shoes and tucking up her legs under her skirt.</p><p>Ava wondered if she’d said the wrong thing. She heard the front door close, and Gideon’s footsteps on the stairs down to the kitchen. “I’m sorry, I - ”</p><p>“Do you remember the other names?” Sara asked.</p><p>“I - yes, but… I don’t recognise them. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone mention them before.”</p><p>“You said that,” Sara said calmly. “And I wouldn’t expect you to. Ray worked with the RAF, Lena provided equipment for any department that needed it, including bespoke items for us. John worked for MI12 putting magic tricks of sorts into boardgames and whatnot. Gideon was a Quartermaster at the SOE, but also acted as my batwoman on a couple of missions, and Charlie was her assistant. As you know, Nora wasn’t involved in any direct war work, Zari was in codebreaking, and Julia - Julia and I had very similar jobs, but being English, she has no reason to appear on any file in your office.”</p><p>“Right,” Ava said, not sure how much of that she was even allowed to know. “I - ”</p><p>“They’re all gone,” Sara said, catching Ava’s eye.</p><p>“Pardon?”</p><p>“The names in the files. All those people. They’re all gone now, except for me.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Ava breathed, her stomach tightening.</p><p>Sara gave a resigned shrug. “You already know about Ollie, but I… I suppose it’s supposed to help, talking about this sort of thing when you can.”</p><p>“Wh - oh. Agent O. Queen is Oliver?”</p><p>“Yes,” Sara said. “We’re all still ‘Agents’ in this document you found?”</p><p>“Yes,” Ava said, wondering what ranks the others ended up with. “It’s from ’42.”</p><p>Sara nodded. “So we’re all still there,” she said wistfully. “Let me guess who’s on the list. Ollie, who you know died on D-Day.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Jefferson Jackson and Nate Heywood?”</p><p>“Yes,” Ava said. Even though the file had only said their first initials, she assumed this was correct.</p><p>“John Diggle?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“And Kate Kane and of course Kara Danvers. They were in a plane that just… disappeared.”</p><p>“Yes,” Ava said. “I mean, it said their names, not that they… umm…”</p><p>“Julia and her friend Sophie were good friends with Kate,” Sara said. “Kara and her sister Alex were both over here. Kate and Kara were both excellent pilots and navigators. They… you just have to pray that they never even knew what hit them…” she said, her shoulders slightly drooping.</p><p>“Oh, Sara, I…”</p><p>Sara looked up, her eyes meeting Ava’s. She swallowed. “Kara was very close with Lena. They were very good friends.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“No,” Sara said, dipping her chin as she kept Ava’s gaze. “<em>Very</em> good friends. Very, very good friends.”</p><p>“Oooh,” Ava said, her eyes widening and cheeks blushing.</p><p>The edge of Sara’s mouth twitched into a small smirk. “There we go. Poor Lena, though. Money buys a lot of things, but it doesn’t buy friends, and it certainly doesn’t buy, well, what she and Kara had.”</p><p>“Lena still has all of you,” Ava said.</p><p>“Yeah,” Sara said, “But we were never her main group of friends. They all either went back to the States or, well… you know.”</p><p>Ava looked down at her hands resting in her lap. “I know I keep saying it, but I am sorry. I - I don’t know what else to say. I’m not very good with this sort thing.”</p><p>“That’s ok,” Sara said. “I’m not either. You should know though, that during the war, there were things I did, Ava, and some of them I’m not very proud of.”</p><p>“I know, and I don’t care.”</p><p>“No, I mean, I - Ava, there are things I did that I should probably feel bad about, but I don’t,” Sara said. She knew she wasn’t making much sense, but she needed to get out whatever words she could. “I forced Julia to walk nearly five miles when she could hardly stand, and I feel horrible about that, but I don’t at all regret what I did to get her out. What I did - it wasn’t just one time. I did it again, and again. The Gestapo even gave me their own codename - the Canary. Thankfully, the different jurisdictions didn’t like sharing information with one another, otherwise I - they got close, though. Too close, and I… I got away but I - Ava, when I say I have other injuries, that scar on my leg, I…”</p><p>“Sara, you don’t have to explain…”</p><p>“Ava, I don’t know if I deserve this,” Sara said, sinking further back into the couch. “You. Us. Whatever we could possibly pretend to be, because we can’t - ”</p><p>“Stand up,” Ava said, cutting Sara off as she stood up.</p><p>“What?” Sara asked, confused and unused to Ava taking control.</p><p>“Stand up,” Ava repeated, her stomach tightening. She watched as Sara slowly uncurled her legs and stood up. Ava stepped forward, took Sara’s right hand and placed it on her hip.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Sara asked.</p><p>“Forcing you to dance with me,” Ava said, placing her left hand on Sara’s shoulder, wondering if Sara could hear her heart thundering in her chest.</p><p>“Why?” Sara asked.</p><p>Ava hadn’t realised how short Sara was until now, especially since Sara had removed her shoes. “Because, Miss Lance, I would like to dance with you.”</p><p>“But Ava, I - I just told you that I - ”</p><p>“And I am trying to tell you that I don’t care! I don’t care about what you did during the war, Sara. What happened in the past is, well, it’s passed. I care that you are here now, with me. I care about you.”</p><p>“I lost people. People died because of me, and not just those I killed on purpose. People <em>I</em> cared about. I’m a Captain without a Company, Ava.”</p><p>“Somehow I doubt you had a hundred people serving under you.”</p><p>“Don’t patronise me, Miss Sharpe,” Sara glared, but never letting go of Ava.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Ava said, feeling very hot. “But I don’t think you’re understanding what I’m trying to say.”</p><p>“And I don’t think you’re understanding what I’m trying to say!” Sara retorted exasperated. “People around me get hurt and die. I don’t have a normal job because I don’t have normal life skills. I’m not normal, and I’m never going to be normal!”</p><p>“I don’t want you to be normal!” Ava cried.</p><p>Sara looked at her. “You don’t?”</p><p>“Gosh, no,” Ava breathed.</p><p>Sara let go of Ava’s waist and hand, wrapping her arms around Ava’s neck. Ava held onto Sara’s waist, pulling her in as close as she could as she closed her eyes while their lips met, filled with years of pent up anguish and yearning.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Over the past few years, Sara had had a lot of hands touching her body. The eager, passionate hands of lovers, trying to get as close as possible as quickly as possible. The practical, over-worked hands of doctors, poking, prodding and patching her up. Gideon’s hands, always warm, always efficient, and always systematic as she massaged liniment oil into Sara’s body. Ava’s hands felt different to all of these.</p>
<p>Sara lay on her back, her nightgown pushed down over her shoulders and resting around her waist. Ava sat beside her, propped up on a couple of pillows, lazily tracing patterns on Sara’s back. Ava’s hands were gentle and caring, and even though her fingers were cool, the sensation was pleasant. With Ava’s hands on her body, Sara felt relaxed and comfortable and safe and, though she wouldn’t dare admit it out loud, loved.</p>
<p>“Are you writing something or just drawing randomly on me?” Sara asked, turning her head a little further to the side so she could see Ava. She loved how Ava’s long, honey-coloured hair fell over her shoulders and the soft curves of Ava’s body under the nightgown of Sara’s that Ava had borrowed.</p>
<p>“Just drawing,” Ava said, the idea of tracing letters on Sara’s back not having occurred to her. “Did you want me to write something?”</p>
<p>“No. What you’re doing feels nice.”</p>
<p>Ava had never dared to imagine that one day she would be lazing on the bed of another woman, absent-mindedly drawing patterns across her naked skin, but here she was, and here Sara was, and it couldn’t feel more natural. The previous night, Ava had initially been shocked at the sight of Sara’s battle-scarred body, but Sara had been so patient and understanding, allowing Ava to take her time to explore as she needed to, and making sure Ava felt comfortable as the evening had progressed. Ava hadn’t known that her body was capable of feeling the way Sara had made her feel, and she was determined to learn how to properly return the favour. Sara had been flattered, offering Ava a nightgown and insisting she stay the night.</p>
<p>“I think we’ll be having porridge for breakfast,” Sara said, still gazing up at Ava, wondering what she was thinking.</p>
<p>“I - is it all right if I stay? I don’t have my rations book, and I owe Gideon rations stamps and…”</p>
<p>“Ava, it’s fine, I promise,” Sara said. “Gideon is extremely good with the resources, and what’s the point of any of it, if you can’t occasionally have guests?”</p>
<p>“I had tea here last night too, and - ”</p>
<p>Sara rolled over and reached up, kissing Ava on the lips to silence her. “Time for breakfast, no more arguments,” she said.</p>
<p>Ten minutes later they wandered down to the dining room. Ava felt a mix of admiration, awe and jealously at how good Sara looked in a slightly faded old dress with a chunky jumper thrown over the top, her hair quickly brushed and tied at the base of her neck. Gideon quickly appeared with the tea and porridge with stewed apples and rhubarb, and supervised the amount of extra sugar they sprinkled onto their porridge.</p>
<p>“Morning Cap. Gideon. Miss Sharpe in the same clothes at yesterday,” Charlie said when she entered with a wink and a stretch.</p>
<p>Ava almost choked on her porridge. Sara merely smiled proudly while Charlie took her seat and Gideon continued to hover, watching the use of sugar.</p>
<p>“I’m guessing you slept all right?” Charlie asked. “Sara’s bed is pretty comfy.”</p>
<p>“Sometimes Charlie hops in bed with me if I have nightmares,” Sara said quickly before Ava could get the wrong idea.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Ava said. “Yes, very well,” she replied, feeling very hot and not just from the hot breakfast.</p>
<p>After breakfast Sara insisted on walking Ava back to her hotel.</p>
<p>“Buses run about once an hour, and good luck finding a cab on a Sunday morning,” Sara explained as she pulled on her hat and coat. “But are you all right walking in those shoes?” Sara was wearing her regular practical brown shoes, but Ava only had the nice pair she’d worn to the theatre.</p>
<p>“It’s fine,” Ava said. “It’s not as though we’ll be sprinting across the park. But how will you get back?”</p>
<p>“Easier to find a cab around Mayfair and Piccadilly than are here,” Sara said, pulling on her gloves. “And even if I do end up walking back, it’s not as though I have any other plans for the day.”</p>
<p>The morning was cool but mostly clear, and the walk through the quiet streets of Kensington up to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park was pleasant in the crisp morning air. Hyde Park was always busy during the Monday lunchtime walks, filled with the old out for a stroll, the young being take out in their strollers, and people from all the surrounding neighbourhoods escaping their offices during lunchtime. Now, however, they almost had the whole 350 acres to themselves, save for a few pigeons, the usual assortment of ducks, geese and swans, a lot of squirrels, and the occasional fellow human keeping a polite distance. Ava commented on there being more squirrels than people, and that if Gideon wished, she could definitely secure a job in the kitchens at the hotel.</p>
<p>“There is no way I’m giving up Gideon to a hotel,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“And I can’t imagine that she’d ever want to leave,” Ava said. “But that was the best porridge I’ve had since I’ve been over here.”</p>
<p>Sara smiled proudly, watching out for slippery wet leaves on the path. “Gideon really is one of a kind. Just like you.” She looked around before slipping her hand into Ava’s. Ava looked down at their hands and smiled, a warmth spreading through her body, and as she caught Sara’s eye, she had a feeling that Sara felt the same.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“Hey, Cap, are you - ?” Charlie asked, tapping on Sara’s bedroom door.</p>
<p>“Did you see the papers?” Sara asked, cutting Charlie off and effectively answering Charlie’s unfinished question as to whether or not Sara was there.</p>
<p>Charlie took that as permission to enter. She found Sara lying on her back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Charlie lay down beside her. “Yeah, I saw.” The sentencing from the Nuremberg Trials had occurred the day prior, and though it had been reported on the wireless the previous evening, no one in the house had listened in. Charlie didn’t have to ask to know that that was why Sara was in a strange mood.</p>
<p>“So, is that it, then?” Sara asked. “Six years, all those people, and now… that’s it?”</p>
<p>“Did you want there to be more?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Sara replied with a sigh, feeling empty and purposeless. “I don’t know how I feel. It’s all over, and I - I know it has to be worth it. It has to be, but…”</p>
<p>“Hey, if it didn’t turn out the way it had, you wouldn’t be get away with sleepovers with Miss Sharpe for a start,” Charlie said.</p>
<p>Sara turned her head to the side to look at Charlie. “Do you think we’re being reckless?”</p>
<p>“You’re Captain Sara Lance. If you weren’t being a bit reckless, I’d be a bit worried.”</p>
<p>“What about when I get my discharge?”</p>
<p>“What about that?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Sara said. “Over a year later, and it’s only just sinking in that it’s really done. It’s really over.”</p>
<p>“Zari’s coming back, the windows are getting fixed, Miss Sharpe is - in the picture,” Charlie said, listing off all the good things which immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>“I’m older than Laurel now,” Sara said, her voice cracking.</p>
<p>Charlie took Sara’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “She’ll always be your big sister.”</p>
<p>Sara nodded.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t be worried if I ended up older than my older sisters.”</p>
<p>“Charlie!”</p>
<p>Charlie chuckled. “They’re pretty horrible people, and you know it. I get what you mean about Laurel, though.”</p>
<p>“And I get that not all sisters are the same,” Sara replied with a small smile. She looked back at the ceiling and after a moment she asked, “What would you think if I asked Miss Sharpe if she would like to occupy some of the spare room here?”</p>
<p>“Really? Sara, that would be brilliant! Not that you need my permission, though.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I do. You live here too,” Sara said. “You really think it’d be good?”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Charlie said. “She can’t live in the hotel forever, however fancy it is. She needs a proper home, and a family and a - whatever you and her have going on. And I think you need it too.”</p>
<p>“I don’t <em>need</em> anyone…” Sara mumbled, priding herself on being independent.</p>
<p>“Nah,” Charlie said. “But since Miss Sharpe showed up in our lives back before the summer, well, it’s been way too long since I’ve seen you this happy, Cap. I know I can’t get to Friday night drinks every week, but when I do, everyone seems happier. Maybe it’s just time passing, I dunno. But we’ve got plenty of spare rooms, even with Z coming back. I think Ava moving in would be good for us all.”</p>
<p>Sara looked back at Charlie. “Good. Because I like to think so too.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Ava tried not to roll her eyes or sigh too loudly upon seeing that the tea room was filled with three men from the upstairs floors of the Embassy. Usually, if anyone else was around, it was a secretary or one of the women employed to take care of the catering. Naturally the men, two of whose names Ava had overheard over the past few months, though they had never been officially introduced, and a third she had seen but didn’t know his name, all ignored Ava completely and carried on as though she wasn’t even there.</p>
<p>“And what sort of country commissions women?” scoffed the tall Mr McNeil.</p>
<p>“No way I’d take orders from some bird,” said blonde Mr Dietel.</p>
<p>“Oh miss, Captain, miss,” the man whose name Ava didn’t know mocked.</p>
<p>The other two chuckled. Ava pretended she wasn’t listening by looking at the newspaper sitting discarded on the table, but like every other news outlet, the headlines were all about the sentencing at the Nuremberg Trials.</p>
<p>“Geez, this place is ridiculous. What does a guy have to do to get a transfer to Paris or Berlin or Vienna?” Mr Dietel said.</p>
<p>“Wasn’t Berlin flattened even more than London?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, but at least you know what kind of insanity you’re dealing with over there, and there’s certainly no women doing anything but secretary work. Who do you reckon she slept with to get commissioned?”</p>
<p>All the men sniggered.</p>
<p>“Excuse me,” Ava said, wishing she sounded more confident as she pushed past to get to the coffee. She no longer felt in need of her morning refreshment, and though they hadn’t named any names, she was convinced they were talking about Sara.</p>
<p>“She spies for them, she’ll spy for the Commies next, and everyone’ll be so shocked,” Mr McNeil said with mock seriousness, continuing as though Ava wasn’t there.</p>
<p>Ava swallowed. She wanted to intervene, but there was nothing she could say, and an awful part of her mind almost believed what they were saying. She didn’t even know for certain that they were referring to Sara, but who else could it be? Had Sara slept her way to a commission? If she was willing to spy for the British, would she spy for the Communists? Ava hurried back to the archives room and tried to distract herself with work, but Mr Green was rambling on about nothing, and the box of files she was dealing with seeming to be even more disorderly than usual. By time five o’clock rolled around, Ava had made up her mind. She had to speak to Sara, and she had to do it now.</p>
<p>When Gideon answered the door, she betrayed no surprise at seeing Ava standing there. As for Ava, as soon as she stepped into the house, she began to doubt herself. This was ridiculous, she thought. She had no reason to suspect that Sara was anything like what she had overheard those men saying, and she felt guilty for even thinking that she could be.</p>
<p>“Ava Sharpe! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sara asked with a smile as she came down the stairs. “Should I tell Gideon to set an extra place for dinner?”</p>
<p>“I don’t mean to stay long,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“Everything all right?” Sara asked, getting a closer look at Ava.</p>
<p>Ava pursed her lips. “I - can I talk to you?” she asked, her stomach tightening.</p>
<p>Sara led the way into the drawing room and closed the door. “Has something happened?”</p>
<p>“I - I don’t know,” Ava said. “It’s probably stupid. I overheard some men in the Embassy today and…”</p>
<p>“What did they say?” Sara asked without meeting Ava’s eye.</p>
<p>Ava opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out.</p>
<p>“Ava, whatever it is, I’ve probably heard it before,” Sara said. “And worse.”</p>
<p>“They were saying that you slept your way to a commission, and that you’ll probably end up spying for the Communists,” Ava said all in one breath.</p>
<p>Sara inhaled deeply and sat down. “What do you think?”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“Do you believe that?” she asked, looking up at Ava.</p>
<p>Ava shook her head. Sara looked disappointed.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry,” Ava said, feeling sick. Had the conversation she’d overheard got to her so much because somewhere in the back of her mind she’d been wondering the same thing? Was she just overreacting, being over-protective? “I feel so embarrassed. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this, Sara. There isn’t exactly guidelines like there is for - well, for normal people. I know I’m probably doing everyone all wrong, but I - I don’t want to mess things up, and I…”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t be so worried if you didn’t care,” Sara said with a small smile.</p>
<p>“What?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>Sara took a deep breath and stood up. “I’m going to say something that I hope will help us both - Ava Sharpe, I love you.”</p>
<p>Ava looked at Sara, not knowing how to respond. “But - but, I - Sara, that…”</p>
<p>Sara gave hopeful little smile.</p>
<p>“But I just…”</p>
<p>“I know. Whatever anyone thinks about me, whatever you think about me… I’ve probably thought worse about myself. But like you said last weekend, that’s all in the past. And now you’re here, and I really don’t want to mess this up.”</p>
<p>“But is it possible? To - to make it work?” Ava said, her voice little louder than a whisper.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Sara said. “We can make it work. And if you ever have questions about anything I’ve done, please ask me and I promise to answer as truthfully as I legally can.”</p>
<p>Ava nodded slowly.</p>
<p>“What would help, if you’d like, and absolutely no pressure,” Sara started, taking Ava’s hands while not sure how to word what she was trying to say. “Well, we’ve got enough rooms here, if you’d like that. You could have a whole floor to yourself. I mean, even once Zari returns there’s still plenty of space, and the window people are coming next week to fix upstairs and - no pressure at all, though. If you’re happy where you are, or want to wait longer, or don’t want to at all. That’s fine. It’s just an idea. If you’d like.”</p>
<p>“Are you asking if I’d like to move in here?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Sara said, realising that she hadn’t made herself clear.</p>
<p>“But I just - I thought… about you…”</p>
<p>“And I just told you I love you.”</p>
<p>“I’d love to,” Ava breathed. “And Sara? I - I really love you too.”</p>
<p>Sara wrapped her arms around Ava, pulling her in close and kissing her like it was the end of the world.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“Mr Green, there wouldn’t happen to be a fireplace in here by any chance?” Ava asked. She’d returned back to the hotel rather late the previous evening, after dining at Sara’s house, then curling up on the couch with her while Sara told censored stories of assorted adventures with her friends during the war, hinting at things which she could not say, but hoping that Ava would piece together. Despite the late hour, Gideon had worked her magic to find a cab for Ava, though Ava had secretly wished that it wasn’t a work night so she could stay over as Sara had dropped more than a couple of hints about that being what she would like. Ava would wait until the following weekend to move to Kensington, by which time the new windows would be installed and she could sort things out with the hotel. However, her conversations with Sara had got her thinking, and there was one way she decided she could protect her girlfriend.</p>
<p>“There’s one behind those filing cabinets,” Gary said. “It is getting cold down here, and I can’t say it’s particularly pleasant during the winter months. I can get a trolley to move the cabinets and - ” He looked at Ava. “We are trying to get the fireplace functional to keep warm, right?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ava said, “And to destroy some files.”</p>
<p>“What? But Miss Sharpe, isn’t that - ?”</p>
<p>“What it is, Mr Green, is protecting those who saved the world. I suspect that somewhere in the archives of the government of this cold and wet island the original copies are kept. There are things that no jumped-up know-it-all from our side of the Atlantic ever needs to know.”</p>
<p>“Is this about - ?”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, I see the chimney. I’ll start moving boxes, you go get the trolley,” Ava said in such a tone that Gary knew there’d be no further questions.</p>
<p>Once they had the space cleared and the fire started, Ava sent Gary on an early lunch break. She closed the door, opened the window an inch, and went to the box from 1942 with the random files they had found from that year, pulling out the three regarding Sara and her team. Ava guessed that amongst the hundreds of boxes still remaining to be sorted there would most likely be more information on Sara and her friends, but this was a start. No one should ever come looking for these files, because no one was meant to know they were here. And if they did, Ava would happily deny everything to protect Sara and those she served with.</p>
<p>Ava stoked the fire and pulled the papers out of the files, removing the paperclips and staples. She folded the first sheet in half, and promised the people who’s names were on it that she’d have a drink for them. She’d look after Sara for them. Ava tossed the first sheet onto the flames and it curled at the edges before catching fire. Ava folded the second sheet, and the third. She wanted these people to be remembered, but she didn’t know how. They gave everything for a country that wasn’t even their own.</p>
<p>Oliver Queen. Kara Danvers. John Diggle. Kate Kane. Nathaniel Heywood. Jefferson Jackson.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Ava whispered as she placed more sheets of paper carefully onto the fire, praying that what she was doing was right and that somehow she could fill a little bit of the hole left in Sara’s life. Not only Sara’s, Ava realised, but Gideon and Charlie’s. Julia Pennyworth. John, Ray and Nora. Lena Luthor. Zari, whoever she was.</p>
<p>When Gary returned, the fire was crackling away merrily, and Ava was back sorting through a box of US Navy files from 1940.</p>
<p>“Mr Green, were you an informant to the British?” Ava asked as casually as if she was asking Gary about the weather, or if he had had a nice walk.</p>
<p>“Wh - I - Miss Sharpe, I - I…” Gary said, going as white as a sheet and looking like he was about to faint.</p>
<p>“Reinforced-ceiling of silence,” Ava said with a wink.</p>
<p>“I - Miss Sharpe, you see, I was just…how did…?”</p>
<p>“Why else would Sara Lance make you call her Captain if you weren’t some subordinate of her’s?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“I - it was just - I mean, nothing much that - ”</p>
<p>“Thank-you, Mr Green,” Ava smiled sincerely. “Sometimes international diplomacy requires professional diplomats, and sometimes what it needs is the archives assistant who everyone ignores and speaks with lose tongues around, never dreaming he has contacts in irregular places.”</p>
<p>Gary sat down heavily. “I only wanted to help,” he breathed.</p>
<p>“I know,” Ava said, leaning agains the boxes.</p>
<p>“I could never do what they were doing,” Gary said. “But if I could help, just every so often, just a little bit. Most of the time I’m sure they already knew what - ”</p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>“And after a while, some of them, they - they stopped coming back…”</p>
<p>Ava swallowed, not daring to imagine how that would feel to be in that situation. “Mr Green, would you like to come to drinks on Friday night with a few of my friends?”</p>
<p>Gary looked at her with wide eyes. “Really?”</p>
<p>“Miss Lance has a habit of meeting me outside that Embassy at 5 o’clock. I suppose you could tag along with us. You know Gideon, don’t you? And John Constantine. I don’t know if you know the Palmers, and there might be a few others.”</p>
<p>Gary’s whole face lit up. “Miss Sharpe, I - ” he began, leaping off his seat.</p>
<p>Ava leant back before he could hug her.</p>
<p>“Too much?” Gary asked.</p>
<p>“Just a little. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going for a walk.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gideon smiled knowingly to herself as she looked at the envelopes while laying out the morning mail for Sara and Charlie in front of their respective places at the dining room table. They both eventually emerged from upstairs, Sara still in a dressing gown, Charlie in a cardigan, slippers and a pair of tartan trousers in which Gideon would not let her leave the house, but Charlie insisted upon wearing around when she could. Sara and Charlie sat down while mumbling a sleepy ‘good morning’ to Gideon, and Gideon poured the tea.</p>
<p>Sara stirred and sipped her tea as Gideon returned to the kitchen to bring out the breakfast. Sara set down her tea-cup and looked at the letter sitting at the top of her plate. A strange sensation, somewhere between dread and relief washed over her as she noticed the crest in the corner. She picked up her knife and opened the letter, setting the knife down again as Gideon had a number of reservations about the silverware being used reasons other than their traditional tasks. The letter slid neatly out of the envelope. Sara set the envelope aside and unfolded the letter.</p>
<p>Charlie took a long, deep breath.</p>
<p>“What?” Sara asked, looking up from her letter.</p>
<p>“What?” Charlie said.</p>
<p>“Why did you make that noise?”</p>
<p>“What noise?” Charlie asked, knowing exactly what Sara meant. “Swap letters?”</p>
<p>“Mine’s only a couple of lines,” Sara said, turning the sheet of paper around. “In a nutshell, all it says is ‘thank-you for your service’.”</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh! Sara, it’s your discharge letter!” Charlie grinned, jumping out of her seat and flinging her arms around Sara’s shoulders.</p>
<p>Sara swallowed. It was all done, finalised, complete. “Guess I’m just a civilian again,” she said, feeling oddly empty.</p>
<p>“You’ll always be Captain Lance to me,” Charlie said, not letting go of Sara despite the awkward hold. “And don’t think Gideon’s about to change your title.”</p>
<p>“Change who’s title, miss?” Gideon asked, entering with the tray of breakfast things.</p>
<p>“Oh please,” Sara said. “Like you didn’t know what this letter was the moment you saw the envelope.”</p>
<p>“I won’t deny it, Captain,” Gideon said. “I believe all this news gives occasion to be a little more generous with the jam and butter than usual.”</p>
<p>“What was your news?” Sara asked, looking at Charlie.</p>
<p>Charlie beamed. “Bloody Zari’s already in Italy. If everything goes according to plan, she’ll be here by the end of the week.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>On Friday evening when Ava and Gary emerged from the US Embassy, Sara was there waiting as usual. She beamed when she saw them exit the building, her hands shoved deep into her coat pockets.</p>
<p>“You look beautiful,” Ava said as Sara wandered towards them. Sara was perfectly made up, her hair was immaculate, she was wearing her good red coat and black hat, and a pair of high-heeled black patent-and-velvet brogues that Ava was a little bit jealous of.</p>
<p>“And usually I look…?”</p>
<p>“No, you always look nice,” Ava said almost panicking before she realised that Sara was teasing. “Just tonight you - you look really nice.”</p>
<p>“Thank-you,” Sara smiled, wishing it was appropriate to greet Ava with a kiss. Gary tried to pretend he wasn’t there.</p>
<p>“Is there a reason you’re all dressed up?” Ava asked, feeling rather drab in her usual work skirt and boring flat shoes.</p>
<p>“Zari surprised us all by returning today,” Sara beamed. “We’d hoped she’d be back this week, but it was hard to know how rail connections across Europe would go. Her train from Dover arrived at Waterloo just after lunch, and then Gideon worked her magic and got us a booking at the bar in the Ritz.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“Really,” Sara said. “So Mr Green, I suggest you hurry home, scrub up and meet us back there by seven at the latest.”</p>
<p>“Yes, Captain!” Gary grinned. “I won’t be late, I promise.”</p>
<p>“And we are…?”</p>
<p>“Going to get you ready for the ball, Cinderella,” Sara said.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“I’ll come back with you to the hotel and help you find something to wear,” Sara said. “Mr Green, you’re still here. Surely you have a train to jump on.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, Captain Lance,” Gary said. Though he’d long since become comfortable in Ava’s presence, something about Captain Lance always made him feel like a silly school boy again. “I - I’ll see you soon. Will Mr Constantine be there?”</p>
<p>“He’s been invited,” Sara said with a wink that Ava didn’t understand. “Come on, Miss Sharpe, we don’t have all night either.”</p>
<p>Ava’s belongings were mostly all packed up for her forthcoming move to Sara’s house, but her good dresses were still hanging in the closet so as not to get crushed. Sara helped Ava pick out what to wear, then went to fix her make-up after an impromptu make-out session on Ava’s bed. Ava freshened up, changed, fixed her hair and popped the essentials into her gold mesh bag which she hadn’t used for a very long time, but Sara insisted she must bring along to the Ritz. Though it was only a couple of blocks away, they took a cab as it was getting dark, and found Gideon, John and Ray waiting in the foyer. Ava had never seen any of them all dressed up. John was usually in a crumpled white shirt, maroon tie and trench coat, Ray in a grey suit, and Gideon in a simple frock. Now, with the men in tuxedoes with their hair perfectly slicked down, and Gideon in a very smart black cocktail dress, Ava hardly recognised them.</p>
<p>“Nora, Charlie and Zari have already gone to claim our table,” Ray said. “You look lovely Miss Sharpe. And Captain Lance, of course.”</p>
<p>“Miss Pennyworth sent a wire to say that Mrs Tyler will be accompanying her this evening,” Gideon said. “And Miss Luthor also accepted the invitation and shall be along shortly.”</p>
<p>“Excellent,” said Sara. “Mr Green is on his way too. We’ll meet you down there. Come on, Ava, time to go meet Zari.”</p>
<p>Ava was in awe of the hotel. Where she was staying was extremely nice, but something about the Ritz seemed to elevate it to a whole other level. The chandeliers, the gold leaf, the marble pillars, the rich carpets made her feel as though she could be in a palace. As the passed the dining room, she saw the early dinner sitting being served the soup course.</p>
<p>“The food isn’t as good as it used to be,” Sara said, leading the way down to the basement bar. “And I don’t know if the service is either, but good service anywhere these days is difficult to come by. This place still has a certain charm about it, and they haven’t changed the prices.”</p>
<p>They entered the bar, and Ava’s gaze immediately fell upon the scalloped ceiling, the chandeliers and opulent furnishing. The bar was very sparsely occupied compared to their usual pub.</p>
<p>“It’ll get busier later,” Sara said slowing her steps and seemingly reading Ava’s mind. “By time we leave, it’ll be packed.”</p>
<p>Ava looked at the few people already there. “Is is just me, or do they look a little…?” she asked quietly.</p>
<p>“This place does have a… reputation, if you will,” Sara winked. “But now that the war is well and truly over, I suppose they’ll be wanting to get rid of that too. But tonight, so long as you can pay, you can play, if you get my drift. And given the occasion, we’re willing to pay. It’s not every day that Zari returns from across the continent. Plus I got my discharge papers this week.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Ava said, nerves and excitement bubbling inside her at the prospect of not having to hide for an evening. “Wait, you got discharged? Why didn’t you say?”</p>
<p>Sara shrugged. “I still haven’t worked out how I feel about it. But I do know how I feel about you, Miss Sharpe, and this place is by no means cheap, but it does allow for certain opportunities that others do not.”</p>
<p>“So it is somewhere we can dance?” Ava confirmed.</p>
<p>“I believe the band kicks off at eight,” Sara smiled. “So yes, somewhere we will dance. Now come on,” she said, slipping her hand into Ava’s. She had long since spotted Charlie, Nora and Zari all dressed to the nines sitting around a table which had a lot of empty seats, but had chosen to linger with Ava. “The others are watching. Time for you to meet Zari and then we can order a cocktail.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Sara walked from Kensington to the hotel, and found Ava waiting in the foyer with her boxes and suitcases neatly stacked around her. Ava had said farewell and tipped her favourite members of the hotel staff, and now was more than ready to move on.</p>
<p>“Been waiting long?” Sara asked.</p>
<p>“No, just a few minutes,” Ava said. “I’ll ask Jones to get us a cab.”</p>
<p>“Great,” Sara said. “I don’t want to lug that back on the bus,” she said, looking at Ava’s things.</p>
<p>Mr Jones, the concierge, found them a cab in no time, and the journey to Kensington was fairly quick too, despite a small detour due to roadworks. Gideon assisted with getting everything up to the rooms which had been designated as Ava’s, and soon her things were all set out on the bed.</p>
<p>“Would you like a hand unpacking?” Sara asked. “Or I’m happy to leave you too it if you’d prefer.”</p>
<p>“If you wouldn’t mind,” Ava said, hoping that wasn’t rude. She wanted to unpack and sort her belongings out by herself, knowing that she would have plenty of time with Sara later on. “It sounds like Zari might need you.”</p>
<p>Sara smiled, quite aware of the commotion coming from Zari’s rooms. “I think Charlie is being unhelpful on purpose. Call me if you need anything. And make a list of anything you think the rooms need, because Gideon, Zari and I will go to Oxford Street during the week. I know Zari has a list of a couple of dozen things already, so don’t be shy.”</p>
<p>“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank-you,” Ava said, quite pleased with the new curtains, the double bed with fresh bedding, the dressing table, chest of drawers and good-sized closet.</p>
<p>“I’ll let you get to it, then,” Sara said.</p>
<p>Ava nodded and Sara disappeared out of her room and down the stairs. Upon opening her suitcases, Ava realised there were some items she had never unpacked during her extended stay at the hotel, having never expected it to go on for a long as it did. She hung up her clothes, folded her underwear and nightgowns, and placed her slippers beside the bed. She put the books she had brought with her on the shelf in the second room which was designated as her study or library, and propped up her postcard from Kew Gardens on the desk along with a framed photo of her parents. While she settled in, Ava could hear the others helping Zari, and as she set up her dressing table, Ava realised that Sara’s townhouse felt more like her family home across the world in Fresno, California than anywhere else.</p>
<p>“Gideon said lunch will be ready in about ten minutes,” Sara said, poking her head into Ava’s bedroom.</p>
<p>“The morning’s flown by!” Ava exclaimed, looking at the time on her watch and realising she was quite hungry.</p>
<p>“Time flies when you’re having fun. The room looks nice and neat, but also very you,” Sara said, looking around at Ava’s things neatly set around the room. “I think it’s happy that there’s someone using it again.”</p>
<p>“You think the room is happy?” Ava asked, raising her eyebrows. Ava wondered where the furniture had come from and who had used these rooms before her, but decided that was a conversation for another day.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Sara said. “It didn’t like sitting up here, with cardboard over the broken window and only Gideon coming up on occasion to check for mice and spiders.”</p>
<p>Ava’s eyes widened.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” Sara laughed, “Any ever found were quickly removed, and since we had the new windows installed, Gideon has been up here every day airing the rooms and getting the furniture set up. I hope you’ve made a shopping list. Anything that you want?”</p>
<p>“There’s nothing major,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“Well, you have to let us know. Anything at all, from doilies to new wallpaper. Gideon and Zari are both desperate to do whatever shopping rationing will allow.”</p>
<p>“I’ll let you know, I promise,” Ava said. “And the wallpaper is fine. But I really can’t thank you enough. And Gideon too, of course.”</p>
<p>“Gideon’s just happy to have another ration book to use. The grocer won’t know what hit him when she puts in next week’s order.”</p>
<p>“You know what I mean,” Ava said.</p>
<p>“I know what you mean,” Sara replied with a smile. She stepped forward and placed her hands on Ava’s hips. “And I know one way you can thank me,” she said, her voice lower than usual.</p>
<p>“If you don’t mind me asking, what do the neighbours think?” Ava asked, resting her hands on Sara’s waist.</p>
<p>“That I’m the landlady, Gideon is the house-keeper, and I rent out the spare rooms to other single women with a strict ‘No Men’ policy. It’s all quite respectable, really.”</p>
<p>Ava giggled and pulled Sara a little closer. “Maybe this is a silly question too, but we still have seperate rooms…”</p>
<p>“That’s not a question.”</p>
<p>“Well… you know? Please don’t make me spell it out,” Ava grimaced.</p>
<p>Sara chuckled. “The rooms are a formality, and let’s face it, everyone likes their own space from time to time. There’s enough communal rooms in the house, including the bathroom of course. But as for sleeping arrangements, well, Miss Sharpe, I don’t suppose you’ve ever attended a country house party?”</p>
<p>“No,” Ava said. “I suppose you have?”</p>
<p>“Before the war, when certain people heard that American heir Oliver Queen was in town, he and I would find ourselves with some rather enviable invitations for the weekend. The staff at those country houses were more surprised when they didn’t see people wandering the hallways in the small hours, if you get my drift.”</p>
<p>Ava blushed and nodded.</p>
<p>“And don’t worry about anyone being indiscreet or anything like that. They all know.” Sara looked over Ava’s shoulder at the freshly laundered bedding. “If Gideon wasn’t serving up the lunch right now, I’d suggest testing out that bed.”</p>
<p>“I suppose we’d better go downstairs,” Ava said, her stomach rumbling at the mention of lunch.</p>
<p>“We definitely should. Gideon is a stickler when it comes to schedule. Perhaps after lunch we could go for a walk, and when we get back we could put our feet up,” Sara said with a wink and a nod towards Ava’s bed.</p>
<p>Ava grinned and took Sara’s hand. “What’s on the lunch menu?”</p>
<p>“Carrot and potato mash with corned beef. It’s a bit of a celebration with you and Zari being here. Gideon even made a cake.”</p>
<p>“Seriously?” Ava asked. It had been months since she’d had any cake.</p>
<p>“Very,” Sara said, leading Ava by the hand out of her room and down the stairs.</p>
<p>After lunch Sara and Ava went off on their walk, while Zari and Charlie caught a bus into the West End to see a matinee, Zari being keen to fully re-embrace London life. Ava could tell already that she and Zari were going to get along, and Ava liked the idea of a surrogate sister-figure already. Sara led Ava through the maze of streets around Kensington, some of which Ava knew, but others were unfamiliar. They got as far as the Royal Albert Hall which they walked around before heading for home via a different route.</p>
<p>“Is it ever properly sunny?” Ava asked when they returned.</p>
<p>“Sometimes,” Sara said, removing her gloves and hat. “This summer was gloomier than usual. But no one travels to England for the wonderful weather. One day I’ll take you to the south of France. Plenty of sunshine there.”</p>
<p>Ava smiled. “I like the sound of that.”</p>
<p>“We’re going to have to stick out the winter here first.”</p>
<p>“That’ll be all right,” Ava said, unbuttoning her coat. “We won’t be going through it alone,” she said, catching Sara’s eye.</p>
<p>“No, we will not,” Sara said, taking Ava’s hand. “Gideon! Miss Sharpe and I will be down for tea at the usual time.”</p>
<p>“Very good, Captain,” Gideon called from the kitchen.</p>
<p>“What are we doing?” Ava asked.</p>
<p>“How else are we supposed to pass gloomy Saturday afternoon?” Sara asked with a smirk.</p>
<p>Ava blushed as she understood. “Yes, ma’am,” she said.</p>
<p>Sara grinned. “Come on, Miss Sharpe. Let’s see if we can’t get you into something more comfortable.”</p>
<p>Some time later, half tangled in sheets and not a lot of clothing, Ava lay in Sara’s arms, comfortable and warm. Once again, Sara had surprised Ava with the things she was able to make her feel, and seemed to be in no hurry for Ava to learn to return the favour, being more than happy when Ava had bit her lip and tightly screwed shut her eyes to stop herself from making too much noise. Everything felt so right. Ava looked at Sara.</p>
<p>“What are you thinking about?” she asked.</p>
<p>“The way life can be beautiful and terrible, both at the same time,” Sara said a little wistfully, running her fingers gently along Ava’s arm.</p>
<p>“That’s very deep considering we just…”</p>
<p>Sara chuckled. “Obviously you fall into the beautiful category in my life. What about you? What are you thinking about?”</p>
<p>“That I’m not running away from anything anymore,” Ava replied, taking hold of Sara’s hand. “I’m right where I need to be.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The End!</p>
<p>As always, thank-you so much for reading, and for all the comments and kudos. It really means a lot :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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